One of the common topics of discussion in family WhatsApp groups, social media debates over last week was which vaccine (CovidShield or Covaxin) to get administered with to minimalize the risk of coronavirus infection.
The mindset of the majority of the Indians has shifted from "Whether the vaccine should be administered?" to "Which vaccine to be administrated?' as the second wave is hitting the nation very badly.
I did some study about these two vaccines to learn the basics and thought will share the information here. So this could serve as one source of consolidated primary details about the vaccines which might save your time from going through multiple complicated technical posts and articles.
* All the information gathered is from different web pages, discussions with people whom I think are genuine in information sharing. Do feel free to share if any details are not accurate or append the additional details in the comments sections which will help others. This is not a post influencing you to get injected.
Let's get started:-)
Who developed these two vaccines?
Covaxin is developed by Bharat Biotech in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research and the National Institute of Virology.
Covidshield is developed by Oxford University in collaboration with AstraZeneca & manufactured at Serum Institute of India.
** AstraZeneca plc is a British-Swedish multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company with its headquarters at the Cambridge Biomedical Campus in Cambridge, England
**Bharat Biotech is a 24-year-old vaccine producer and has 16 vaccines to its portfolios and exports to 123 countries.
Do you know - 60 % of the world's vaccines are made in India & 50 % of the vaccine manufacturers are located in India.
How do the vaccines act? Is there a difference?
Covaxin is an inactivated vaccine that is developed by killing the live microorganisms that cause the disease. This is more of a common approach.
The inactive/ killed virus does not replicate or multiply but once the dead microorganism is administrated into the body our immune system will recognize it and produces an immune response.
Covidshield uses a different approach a chimpanzee's adenovirus has been modified to enable it to carry the COVID-19 spike protein into the cells of humans.
***Adenoviruses are a group of common viruses that infect the lining of your eyes, airways and lungs, intestines, urinary tract, and nervous system. They're common causes of fever, coughs, sore throats, diarrhea, and pink eye. Infections happen in children more often than in adults, but anyone can get them.
This cold virus cant infect the person receiving the vaccine but our body's immune system will prepare a mechanism against such virus.
Price and dose of the vaccines:
Both are priced at 250 Rs per dose at private hospitals whereas vaccines are administered for free of cost at government hospitals.
Both the vaccines have two dosages the second dose is administered between 6 to 8 weeks after the first dose.
Vaccines require two doses because the immune response to the first dose is rather weak. The second dose helps to better reinforce this immune response.
Vaccine injection into the body :
Both the vaccines are administered through IM Injections.
IM injection is the technique used to deliver a medication deep into the muscles, allowing the medication to be absorbed into the bloodstream quickly.
Also once after administration, you will be monitored at the hospital for 30 mins for any risks and health care providers do prescribe paracetamol if mild fever and body ache symptoms are encountered after vaccine administration.
It is better to keep the calendar free for the subsequent 2 days of vaccine administration as there is a good chance to feel tired and feverish as the immune system will fight the new dead/ modified virus injected into the body
Qualifying age group :
At present (as of Apr 10'2021) people in the age group 45 and above are eligible to be administered the vaccines.
As per the approval, Covaxin is approved for 12 years and above.
Covishield has been approved for 18 years and above.
There is no assurance if the vaccine can be provided to children and pregnant women.
Approvals:
The Drugs Controller General of India (DGCI) has not given a market use permission clearance to any of the vaccines till now.
Covaxin has been granted a restricted-use permission in clinical trial mode, while Covishield has been allowed for restricted use in emergencies for people over 18 years of age.
Risks of the vaccine:
Very Common (may affect more than 1 in 10 people)
* Tenderness, pain, warmth, redness, itching, swelling, or bruising where the injection is given
* Generally feeling unwell
* Feeling tired (fatigue)
* Chills or feeling feverish
* Headache
* Feeling sick (nausea)
* Joint pain or muscle ache
Common (may affect up to 1 in 10 people)
* A lump at the injection site
* Fever
* Being sick (vomiting)
* Flu-like symptoms, such as high temperature, sore throat, runny nose, cough & chills
Uncommon (may affect up to 1 in 100 people)
* Feeling dizzy
* Decreased appetite
* Abdominal pain
* Enlarged lymph nodes
* Excessive sweating, itchy skin or rash
Vaccine availability:
Recently(Apr 9th 2021) in a new's article ,I read that there is a good chance we might run out of stock of these vaccines.
Take care of yourself and your family. Stay safe :-) Cheers.
Informative article shared at the right time.
Great work anna👏🏻👏🏻. Looking forward for more blogs 😊.
Another good article at this pandemic situation gurushankar.No drug product will be permitted if it's unsafe. As of now all launched vaccines are safe, but effectiveness varies slightly. So go for whatever is available. Sooner the better.