Corbevax approved as precaution dose for adults vaccinated with Covaxin, Covishield

The Union Health Ministry has approved Biological E’s Corbevax as a precaution dose for adults fully vaccinated with either Covishield or Covaxin, as per sources who told PTI. This is the first time when a booster dose is different from the one used for primary vaccination against COVID-19.

As per these sources, the Union Health Ministry’s approval is based on the recommendations made by the COVID-19 Working Group of the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI).

Sources told news agency PTI, “Corbevax will be considered as a precaution dose after completion of six months or 26 weeks from the date of administration of the second dose of either Covaxin or Covishield vaccines for those aged above 18 years enabling use of Corbevax as a heterogeneous COVID-19 vaccine for precaution dose administration in this age group.”

The approval will be in addition to the guidelines for homologouos precaution dose administration of Covaxin and Covishield vaccine and necessary changes vis-a-vis administration of Corbevax as precaution dose are being made on the CoWIN portal.

The COVID-19 Working Group (CWG) reviewed data of the double-blind randomised phase-3 clinical study which evaluated the immunogenicity (ability of a foreign substance to provoke an immune response) and safety of Corbevax as the booster dose when administered to adults in the 18-60 age bracket.

Sources further said, “Following the examination of the data, the CWG observed that Corbevax vaccine can induce significant increase in antibody titers when given to those who have received either Covaxin or Covishield, which is likely to be protective as per the neutralisation data also,”

Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) approved Corbevax as a precaution dose for those aged 18 and above on June 4 this year.

Corbevax is the country’s first indigenously developed RBD proten subunit vaccine. It is currently used for inoculating children in the age group of 12-14 years.

(With inputs from PTI)