ICMR study shows Covid-19 vaccination reduces mortality due to Delta variant of Covid-19
An Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) study conducted in Chennai has found that the Delta variant has the potential to infect both vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals, but it reduces mortality among the former group.
According to a study published in the Journal of Infection on August 17 and approved by the Institutional Ethics Committee of ICMR-National Institute of Epidemiology, Chennai indicates that the prevalence of the Delta variant or B.1.617.2 was not different between the vaccinated and unvaccinated groups.
Also Read | Afghanistan: People hang on flying aircraft in hurry to leave the country, two of them fall
"B.1.617.2 has the potential to infect both vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals. However, the progression of illness seems to be prevented by Covid-19 vaccination. Therefore, non-pharmaceutical interventions must continue to slow down the transmission. Additionally, the pace and scale of vaccination have to be increased to mitigate the further waves of the pandemic," the report read.
Also Read | LPG gas cylinder price hiked again. Here’s how much it will cost you now
"Systematic genomic surveillance must be carried out to monitor the emergence of newer variants and assess their capacity to evade infection/vaccine-induced immunity," it added.
The report also quoted other studies that have reported a reduction in neutralisation among Covishield and Covaxin vaccine beneficiaries after infection with the Delta variant.
"India experienced a severe second wave of SARS-CoV-2 infections during the months of April and May 2021. COVID-19 vaccination with BBV152 vaccine (Covaxin; Bharat Biotech) and ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 (Covishield, Serum Institute of India) was started in the country in January 2021, targeting healthcare workers in the first phase and later expanded to include adult population groups. Breakthrough infections following vaccination have been reported in India," the report said.
"Breakthrough infections could be due to the emergence of newer mutant strains capable of escaping the host immune response," it added.
-PTC News
