Covaxin-Covishield jab combo elicits four times antibody response: Study

A health worker administers a vaccine dose to a student at a school, in Lucknow on Tuesday. Pic/PTI

Mixing of Covaxin and Covishield as first and second doses or vice versa was found to be four times more effective, a study has said. The study was conducted to determine the safety profile of mixing Covishied and Covaxin along with checking the antibody response, said Hyderabad-based AIG Hospitals that collaborated with the Asian Healthcare Foundation for the research.

The key finding of the study was that the Spike-protein neutralising antibodies found in the mixed vaccine groups were significantly higher than the same-vaccine groups, D Nageshwar Reddy, chairman of AIG Hospitals said. "We found that when the first and second dose are of different vaccines, the Spike-protein antibody response is four times higher compared to two-dose of same vaccine," he said. The study included 330 volunteers. The findings are particularly important when considering administering a third booster dose aiming to elicit robust antibody response and help in killing the virus, he said.

Weekend curfew in Delhi

Amid rising cases, weekend curfew will return in the national capital. Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia also announced that during weekdays, government employees, barring those engaged in essential services, will be asked to work from home, while private offices will remain open with 50 percent capacity. Earlier, the government said CM Arvind Kejriwal had tested positive for the COVID. On December 28, Delhi declared a ‘yellow alert' after the positivity rate crossed the 0.5 per cent mark, and shut cinemas and gyms.

60 cases at IIT-Kh

Sixty individuals, including 40 students, at IIT Kharagpur have tested positive, an official said Tuesday. Most of those infected are mildly symptomatic or asymptomatic and either at home isolation or at isolation wards created in the institution's hostels, said the official.

3,49,60,261
Total no. of Coronavirus cases in India so far

4,82,017
Total no. of deaths due to the virus in India so far

1,71,830
Total no. of active cases in India

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever