Hyderabad:Â Amidst concerns of a new Covid wave in the country following massive surge in cases in some countries, researchers at the AIG Hospitals in Hyderabad have published results of a significant scientific study proving the immunity benefits of indigenous heterologous vaccine booster, Corbevax in combating Omicron variants.
Breaking down the key aspects of the study, D Nageshwar Reddy, Chairman, AIG Hospitals and one of the researchers on board, said in a press release that the study was done on 250 healthcare workers who had received two doses of Covishield as the primary vaccine regimen not more than 6 months ago.
“The first aspect was to test the safety of this combination. We are very happy to report that none of the 250 participants had any adverse events following the administration of Corbevax booster dose,” Reddy said.
The second aspect of the study was to measure the antibody response as well as the T-cell (memory cell) response at 30 days and then at 90 days to correctly estimate the overall protection against the circulating Omicron variant and Corbevax as a booster showed higher levels of antibodies at both 30 days and 90 days, the release said.
The study titled “Heterologous Booster Dose with Corbevax Following Primary Vaccination with Covishiefd Enhances Protection against SARSCoV-2” was published in journal “Vaccines.”
Another significant finding of the study is regarding the memory cells which account for the longterm immunity against the virus. The researchers used advanced flow cytometry to measure T and B cell responses.
Out of the 250 participants, 10 individuals turned out to be Covid-positive beyond 30 days after the booster dose, it added.
