As India entered the second wave of COVID-19, it just feels like we are back in time to 2020 except the situation is far worse now with the rise in cases and death toll every single day. But the only silver lining in these traumatizing times is we have vaccines that can cure the virus unlike in 2020 where we had no idea of a cure for the novel coronavirus.
We just entered the third phase of the vaccination drive in India where citizens of India from the age of 18 to 45 will also be vaccinated. It is very important to educate people and motivate everyone to take the vaccines as this is the most simple yet very effective step to fight against the virus to protect ourselves and the world.
The Government of India has not given the chance for people to choose the vaccine for their vaccination drive yet. But, It is important to understand that both the vaccines have passed the clinical trials and are safe to use. As of now, two types of vaccines namely, Covaxin and Covishield are used in India to vaccinate people. In this article, we will take you through the basic comparison of both the vaccines that you need to know and clear the doubts you have about Vaccination, Covaxin, and Covishield.
Source:
Covaxin was developed by Bharat Biotech International Ltd, a Hyderabad-based company partnering with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the National Institute of Virology (NIV).
Covishield is being manufactured by the Serum Institute of India (SII) located in Pune and is developed by the Oxford-AstraZeneca.
How It Works?
In simple terms, Covaxin is a dead virus vaccine that contains the virus particle virion to boost antibody production to fight COVID.
On the other hand, Covishield is made of a harmless virus called adenovirus that is combined with COVID-19 spike proteins to boost antibodies in humans.
Dosage:
Two doses are required to complete the vaccination process for both Covaxin and Covishield.
Second Dose:
When it comes to the second dose of the vaccines,
Covaxin’s second dose needs to be taken 4-6 weeks after the first one.
Covishield’s second dose can be delayed a little more, i.e. within 6-8 weeks after the first dose. This delay came into effect after experts found out that Covishield provides stronger immunity.
Effectiveness:
After gathering data from the two phases of vaccination drives, Covaxin has shown an efficiency of 78 percent in the analysis and the good note is that Covaxin is 100 percent efficient when the condition is severe.
Covishield has an overall efficiency of 70 percent after the first dose, but it can be up to 90 percent after two doses.
Price:
The Government of India has offered free vaccines to everyone above the age of 45 in the Government Vaccination Centres.
Serum Institute of India has announced that Covishield will be sold at ₹300 for the government, while it will be sold for ₹600 to private hospitals and institutions.
In comparison, Covaxin is slightly expensive. For state governments, it is priced at ₹400, and for private institutions, it will be priced at ₹1200.
However, in private institutions due to the demand and shortage, the prices may vary but the government officials are keeping the prices in check to make the doses accessible for everyone.
Side Effects:
Post-vaccination, minor side-effects are reported like,
For Covaxin the side-effects are some immediate symptoms reported are pain and swelling at the site of injection, headache, fatigue, fever, nauseous, vomiting, cold, cough, etc.
After taking Covishield mild symptoms like sensitivity and pain at the site of injection, headache, fever, weakness, joint pain, and nausea are reported.
It is also seen in most cases that within a couple of days, maximum symptoms have subsided automatically.
Ideal Age:
Covaxin can be given to everyone above the age of 12.
Covishield has been found ideal for people aged 18 years and above.
Storage:
Even though we didn’t come to a stage where vaccines are supplied enormously, but to note, both the vaccines can be stored in normal household refrigerators with a temperature of 2-8 degrees Centigrade making it easy to store, move around in India.
To conclude, both the vaccines are certified by the World Health Organisation, WHO and are found to be well-effective, matching WHO standards by building strong immunity against the virus. We cannot claim that one vaccine is better or efficient than the other as both of them serve the good same cause of protection against coronavirus.
We cannot just sit and wait for someone to find which vaccine is better. At a time where the healthcare system is failing and the situation is getting worse each day, hop onto the first chance you get to take the vaccine and protect yourselves and the world from this global pandemic.
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