Covaxin Vs Covishield
Since the early stages of the pandemic, India has been at the forefront of the COVID-19 vaccination race. And now that the country’s national vaccination program is up and running, lakhs of Indians can expect to be vaccinated against the deadly virus shortly.
Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin and Serum Institute’s Covishield are the two Covid vaccines currently in use in India. Both have some similarities, but they also have a lot of differences.
Covishield or the Oxford-AstraZeneca jab remains to be the common alternative, used in maximum countries. Covaxin, on the other hand, is now widely regarded as one of the safest and tolerable mutant strain vaccines. Do the distinctions, however, make one superior to the other?
With both vaccines now being available in the open market, there is increasing controversy over their use.
We brief you about the particulars of the two vaccines:
Developer
Covaxin has been developed by Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech International Ltd. in association with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the National Institute of Virology (NIV).
Covishield has been developed by the Oxford-AstraZeneca and is being manufactured by the Serum Institute of India (SII).
Type of Vaccine
Covaxin is an inactivated vaccine that was developed using a well-proven platform of dead viruses.
Whole-Virion Inactivated Vero Cell-derived technology was used to create this vaccine. They contain inactivated viruses that cannot infect a person but can teach the immune system how to prepare a defense against an active virus.
These conventional vaccines have been around for a long time. Vaccines for a variety of different diseases are also produced using the same method. These diseases are:
- Seasonal influenza
- Rabies
- Polio
- Pertussis, and
- Japanese encephalitis
Covishield was made utilizing a completely distinct technology called the Viral vector platform. ChAdOx1 is a chimpanzee adenovirus that has been engineered to transport the COVID-19 spike protein into human cells. Although this cold virus is unable to infect the recipient, it can instruct the immune system to create a defense mechanism against such viruses.
This exact technology was used to prepare vaccines for viruses like Ebola.
Mode of Administration
Both Covaxin and Covishield are intramuscular vaccines.
Side-effects
Covaxin can cause discomfort, swelling, and redness at the injection site and dizziness and weakness. Rashes all over the body might also cause an increase in heartbeat.
Swelling of the throat and difficulty in breathing are possible side effects, as are allergic reactions, vomiting, nausea, malaise, fever, headache, body soreness, and discomfort in the arm where the injection was given. Upper-arm stiffness can cause problems. However, no concrete information has yet been received.
On the other hand, after injecting Covishield, you may have soreness at the injection site, headaches, joint pain, a fever, an overall feeling of being unwell, itching at the injection site, and swelling that appears as warmth and tenderness.
There is no clear information concerning this; it was stated on the presumption that this could occur after the injection, but no visible impacts of its negative consequences have been discovered thus far.
These vaccines are considered to be very crucial based on the information provided above. Hence, getting vaccinated is a small step toward restoring society to its former condition.
Covishield vs. Covaxin- You can use either one of the two vaccines; they are both effective. Make sure you and your family members who are eligible get vaccinated, as soon as possible.
