New Delhi: India’s own COVID-19 vaccine, Covaxin, has the capacity to neutralize multiple variants of SARS-CoV-2 and effectively works against the double mutant strain as well, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) said on Wednesday. “Covaxin has been found to effectively neutralise the double mutant strain as well,” the ICMR said in a tweet.

In a major breakthrough, the ICMR study also projected that Covaxin has neutralised the Indian double mutant variant of SARS-CoV-2. Moreover, many experts also believe the double mutant variant has fuelled the second wave of Covid-19 pandemic in India.

Notably, Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin has received Emergency Use Authorizations (EUAs) for COVID-19 treatment in India and in several countries across the globe with another 60 in the process.

ICMR-National Institute of Virology has successfully isolated and cultured multiple variants of concern of SARS-CoV-2 virus: B.1.1.7 (the UK variant), B.1.1.28 (Brazil variant ) and B.1.351 (South Africa variant).

ICMR-NIV has demonstrated the neutralisation potential of Covaxin against the UK variant and Brazil variant, the ICMR said.

It also added that the ICMR-NIV recently has been successful in isolating and culturing the double mutant strain B.1.617 SARS-CoV-2 identified in certain regions of India and several other countries.

Apart from India, other countries have detected the double mutant variant of SARS-CoV-2, which has been found to be more infective. This has led to countries such as New Zealand, the UK, the US, Hong Kong, Singapore and Pakistan impose travel restriction from India in the past few days.