Research Body vs Bharat Biotech On Covaxin Against Double Mutant Strain

Twenty-four hours earlier Bharat Biotech's Dr Krishna Ella told NDTV there is "no information yet" about how well the vaccine might work against Covid variants

The ICMR, the Indian government's top medical research body, on Wednesday said Covaxin - the coronavirus vaccine developed and manufactured by Bharat Biotech - "... neutralises multiple variants of SARS-CoV-2... effectively neutralises double mutant strain as well...". ICMR study shows #COVAXIN neutralises against multiple variants of SARS-CoV-2 and effectively neutralises the double mutant strain as well. @MoHFW_INDIA@DeptHealthRes#IndiaFightsCOVID19#LargestVaccineDrivepic.twitter.com/syv5T8eHuR Twenty-four hours earlier, though, Bharat Biotech's Dr Krishna Ella told NDTV there is "no information yet" about how well the vaccine might work against variants of the coronavirus. He said the data - specifically efficacy against the double mutant strain - was not expected for a week. "I don't know about the South African variant yet... but coming to the Indian double mutant, we don't have knowledge, we will have data in about a week," Dr Ella, the chairperson of the Hyderabad-based vaccine firm, told NDTV in an exclusive interview. Dr Ella also indicated the timeline - "a week" - was only an estimate, and said: "I don't want people to bug me saying you said one week... it takes time for us... We are very serious about it."