Covishield shows better antibody response than Covaxin, says study

Indian healthcare workers who were administered Covishield have shown better antibody response than the Covaxin recipients, revealed a recent study.

The Cross-sectional Coronavirus Vaccine-induced Antibody Titre (COVAT) study were published in pre-print server MedRxiv on June 4.

The study was conducted on 515 vaccinated healthcare workers-415 with Covishield and 90 with Covaxin. The pan India study was conducted in 13 states and 22 cities and it found that the vaccines could generate an immune response in 95 per cent recipients 21-36 days after the second dose.

The seropositivity was observed in 98 per cent of those immunised with Covishield as opposed to 80 per cent Covaxin recipients. Anti-spike antibody titre was found to be significantly higher in Covishield recipients (115 AU/ml) compared to Covaxin (51 AU/ml), the study said.

The lead author of the study, Dr. Awadesh Kumar Singh of G D Hospitals and Diabetes Institute, Kolkata said that the study was not meant to comment on which vaccine was better, but to take a look at the real world effectiveness of the vaccination.

“In the absence of measuring neutralising antibody and cell mediated response, it is difficult to comment whether one is superior,” Dr Kumar said.

He further added that in individuals who have had COVID-19, both vaccines are equally good and could produce high anti-bodies even after a single shot. Covishield however has the edge when it came to people who have not got COVID-19, he also added.