Indian Council of Medical Research has said that COVID-19 vaccine Covaxin has equivalent immunogenicity against the UK-variant and circulating strains of SARS-Cov2 in India.

Covaxin is developed by Bharat Biotech in collaboration with ICMR. The UK-variant of SARS-Cov-2 with its all signature mutations were isolated and cultured in the world successfully for the first time at ICMR-NIV which was used for testing.

Meanwhile, Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr Harshvardhan said that engagement with multiple stakeholders is important to spread the right information and dispel rumours about the vaccination programme. He said, 2020 was the year of discovery for COVID-19 vaccines and this year's challenge before the world is to inoculate the people who most need it.

While chairing the 148th session of WHO Executive Board recently, Dr Harsh Vardhan said, it is encouraging that tremendous progress has been made despite all the problems in the world. He said, ever since the COVID-19 was declared a pandemic, a valiant fight was fought against the disease with collective efforts to suppress transmission, prevent illness and reduce deaths.

Appreciating the role of all the member States for acting with speed and scale during the rapidly evolving pandemic, Dr Harshvardhan said, determination and hard work demonstrated by the countries have saved countless lives amid the ongoing crisis. He added that the biggest success of this pandemic has been the team work and health care organizations actually focused on delivering a meaningful goal across the world.