Mutant UK Covid-19 Strain May Force Serum Institute to Tweak Vaccine Composition

10-02-2021

Serum Institute of India may have to make adjustments in the composition of the vaccine developed by the University of Oxford and British pharma major AstraZeneca after the World Health Organization�s (WHO) Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE) expressed concerns over the effectiveness of the vaccine against the South African mutant coronavirus strain. According to a report, on Monday and Tuesday, SAGE reviewed the evidence on the vaccine�s effectiveness on new SARS CoV-2 variants, before making significant recommendations. Earlier, South Africa decided to stop the rollout of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine after preliminary clinical trial findings published by the Wits Vaccines and Infectious Diseases Analytics Research Unit indicated that it offered minimal protection against the mild-moderate Covid-19 infection from the B.1.351 variant of the coronavirus first identified in the country in November. The study involved around 2,000 volunteers. The development assumes significance for the Adar Poonawalla-led Serum Institute of India (SII), as COVAX has signed advance purchase agreements with AstraZeneca and SII, and has announced plans to distribute nearly 350 million doses in the first half of the year. Though the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, branded as Covishield in India, was rolled out in the country, it is yet to receive a green signal for global use by COVAX. India has only one mutant strain of coronavirus, the UK variant, circulating. The government has cited studies to say that Bharat Biotech�s Covaxin works against the mutant strain. It has, however, said that the surveillance for mutations in the virus will be increased after the vaccine efficacy issue was brought to its notice by South Africa.