As COVID-19 infections increase in some countries, raising concerns in India over protection against the disease, bivalent vaccines – those developed using two variations of the coronavirus – offer incremental benefit in the elderly, a top virologist said.
“When it comes to vaccines, what we’ve seen with the monovalent vaccines and bivalent vaccines is what the bivalent vaccines offer, that benefit is the greatest in the oldest individuals. These are data that have come out recently,” virologist Gagandeep Kang told Moneycontrol in an exclusive interview.
A bivalent vaccine is designed on the basis of two different mutated forms of the virus. Moderna’s mRNA 1273.214 vaccine is a combination of the original Wuhan strain and the highly mutated Omicron variant. It provides protection against both versions of the pathogen.
Kang said countries in the West have been using bivalent boosters.
“In Europe, they also have a monovalent vaccine for the Omicron strain alone,” she added.
On the possibility of an additional vaccine dose against Omicron for the entire population, Kang, the first Indian woman to be inducted as a Fellow of the Royal Society in London, said that it was a question of individual benefit and population benefit.
“The data shows that if you are an older individual, you will derive more benefit than a younger person,” said Kang. “The problem is when it comes to populations. How much benefit will we derive by vaccinating the entire population against one variant of a virus against which we already have a reasonable degree of immunity?”
India stepped up surveillance after reports of a spurt in cases driven by the new and highly transmissible BF.7 strain of the Omicron variant in China, Japan, the US, South Korea, and Brazil. Four such cases have been found in India so far.
Bivalent vaccine in India
According to government officials, an Indian bivalent vaccine is already in the pipeline.
“We have spoken to at least five pharma companies who have agreed to work on the research and development of bivalent vaccines against the emerging threat of the rapidly spreading strain of Omicron,” an official said.
Biological E, Serum Institute of India and Bharat Biotech are said to be working on developing bivalent vaccines.
“We got plans from a few companies on their development plans for a bivalent vaccine for the Omicron variant. One pharma company has also said it is looking at the possibility of developing a universal vaccine,” the government official said.
Mahima Datla, managing director of Hyderabad-based Biological-E., had confirmed earlier that her company was developing a bivalent vaccine.
“We are developing an Omicron-specific vaccine but we are also contemplating that to be used as a bivalent vaccine,” Datla told Moneycontrol in an interview. “Obviously the great solution would be to have a vaccine that stops transmission, but the scientific community hasn’t found a solution to that.”
Seeking approval
A Biological E. official said the vaccine has been developed and is ready for clinical trials.
“We have also filed for the approval of clinical trials with the authorities,” he added.
An official from Serum Institute from India said the company has applied to the drug regulator to allow the Novavax vaccine to be administered as a booster dose for those who had taken both Covishield and Covaxin.
SII, which manufactures the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID‑19 vaccine branded Covishield in India, has worked with Novavax, a US biotechnology company, on an Omicron variant-specific vaccine for Covid-19.
“We have presented the data to the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) and are awaiting approval,” the official said, without divulging details about the timeline for this vaccine.
A spokesperson for Bharat Biotech, which developed the Covaxin vaccine indigenously, confirmed that the company is developing a “variant-proof” COVID-19 vaccine candidate.
“We are part of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) comprising the University of Sydney (Australia), and ExcellGene SA, Switzerland,” a Bharat Biotech official said.
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