Covaxin is an inactivated vaccine; which means the vaccine is made of dead coronaviruses which are then injected into the human body.
ZyCoV-D is a DNA plasmid-based COVID-19 vaccine. It has been developed in partnership with the Department of Biotechnology under the ‘Mission COVID Suraksha’ and implemented by BIRAC. The vaccine produces a spike protein of the coronavirus in the cell and this elicits an immune response against the coronavirus.
In the mRNA vaccine the messenger RNAs trigger an immune response in our bodies which in turn produces antibodies and thus protects us from the infection.
While Covaxin uses the traditional method of vaccination using dead coronaviruses to develop antibodies, mRNA vaccines will use the synthetically created mRNA to teach our cells how to make a protein—or even just a piece of a protein to trigger immune response and production of antibodies and ZyCoV-D uses DNA plasmid to fight against coronavirus.
On why it developed an inactivated vaccine, the manufacturer says, “Conventionally, inactivated vaccines have been around for decades. Numerous vaccines for diseases such as Seasonal Influenza, Polio, Pertussis, Rabies, and Japanese Encephalitis use the same technology to develop inactivated vaccines with a safe track record of >300 million doses of supplies to date. It is the well-established, and time-tested platform in the world of vaccine technology.”
On mRNA vaccines, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says, “Like all vaccines, mRNA vaccines benefit people who get vaccinated by giving them protection against diseases like COVID-19 without risking the potentially serious consequences of getting sick.”
On the world’s first DNA based vaccine approval for emergency use , Dr Renue Swarup, Secretary, DBT and Chairperson, BIRAC, had said, “We are confident that this will be an important vaccine for both India and the world. This is an important milestone in our Indigenous Vaccine Development Mission and positions India on the Global Map for Novel Vaccine Development.”
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