After a third round of clinical trials, Bharat Biotech on March 3 announced that its Covaxin vaccine was 81 percent effective in preventing COVID-19. Covaxin showed 81 percent interim efficacy in preventing COVID-19 in those without prior infection after the second dose, the company said.
“Data from 25,800 participants received a vaccine or placebo in a 1:1 ratio showed that the vaccine candidate was well tolerated,” the company said in a statement.
The first interim analysis is based on 43 cases, of which 36 cases of COVID-19 were observed in the placebo group versus 7 cases observed in the Covaxin group, resulting in a point estimate of vaccine efficacy of 80.6 percent.
Covaxin is developed by Bharat Biotech in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research and the National Institute of Virology.
The vaccine has been approved for restricted emergency use under clinical trial mode. The vaccine will have to be taken in two doses with 28 days apart.
