So far, here's everything we know about Covovax. 

The World Health Organization (WHO) approved Serum Institute's Covovax vaccine for emergency use on Friday, making it the 9th COVID-19 vaccine to receive WHO approval. 

In a release, the WHO said, "Today, the World Health Organization issued an emergency use listing (EUL) for NVX-CoV2373, expanding the basket of WHO-validated vaccinations against the SARS-CoV-2 virus." The Covovax vaccine is made under license from Novavax by the Serum Institute of India and is part of the COVAX facility portfolio, offering a much-needed boost to ongoing efforts to vaccinate more people in low-income countries.

"Covovax is now WHO certified for emergency use, showing exceptional safety and efficacy," Adar Poonawalla tweeted, congratulating the vaccine on another "milestone."

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Covovax is a COVID-19 vaccination with two doses. 

Covovax is a protein subunit of the vaccine developed by the Serum Institute of India under license from American biotechnology company Novavax and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI). Novavax granted the Pune-based business SII the license to manufacture and supply the vaccine to low- and middle-income countries, including India, in 2020, making the collaboration official. 

It's a two-dose shot that requires 2 to 8 °C refrigerated conditions for storage, just like other COVID-19 vaccinations in India.

What is the mechanism behind it? 

The spike protein is the primary target of all COVID-19 vaccines. 

Covovax is a recombinant protein vaccine that infects and trains the immune system to fight infections using spike proteins. The vaccine is created by combining modified SARS-CoV-2 spike genes with an engineered baculovirus. The spike gene-carrying virus is then employed to infect the moth cells. Spike proteins associated with the new coronavirus are then produced by the cells. After harvesting and purifying the spike proteins, a specific dosage of these spike proteins is employed as the vaccine. Because these spike proteins do not contain any live viral components, they are considered harmless and do not cause infection. These, on the other hand, operate to elicit an immunological response, which then produces antibodies. 

Vaccines, on the other hand, are virus mimics designed to produce a protective coating of antibodies against infection.

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Will it be effective in the face of new variants? 

Coronavirus vaccinations are a godsend in the face of developing variations. Although persons who have been fully vaccinated are still susceptible to getting the virus, accumulating data suggests that it can help prevent serious infections, lowering the risk of hospitalization and death. 

Clinical tests on Covovax have shown that it is 96.4 percent effective against mild to severe COVID-19 infection. Additionally, two weeks after the first dose, it exhibited an efficacy of roughly 83.4 percent. 

The vaccine has also been shown to be effective against some of the newer strains. While it was 86.3 percent effective against the Alpha type of the SARs-COV-2 virus in the United Kingdom, it was just 49 percent effective against the Beta variation in South Africa.

'Much superior to Covishield' 

Covovax "induces a strong immune response and has an outstanding safety profile," according to Anurag Agrawal, one of the leaders of the government's genome sequencing monitoring organization INSACOG (Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium). 

He believes that Covovax is more effective than Covishield when it comes to booster shots. 

"I don't believe the approved version, which is based on ancestral spike protein, will be very efficient against Omicron because its efficacy against Beta was approximately 50%." (much better than AZ though). As a booster, it's better than the third dosage of AstraZeneca/Covishield," he stated. 

However, he adds that further data is needed to validate the Novovax vaccine's efficacy against the novel COVID variant Omicron. 

He also believes that the WHO approval is good news for India and that the government should move quickly to implement Covovax as a vaccine booster.

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What does this imply for the children? 

Adar Poonawalla, CEO of the Serum Institute of India (SII), recently revealed plans to launch the Covovax jab for children in the next six months.

"We haven't seen a lot of acute illness in children." Panic does not affect children, luckily. "However, we will offer a vaccination for them in six months," he said, "ideally down to the age of three." 

"Our Covovax vaccine is currently being tested and has shown great outcomes all the way down to three years of age," he continued. This was before the World Health Organization (WHO) approved Covovax for emergency use.

He also emphasized the significance of vaccinating children in addition to his statement on the launch of a vaccine. "Yes, I believe you should get your children immunized. There is no risk because these vaccines have been shown to be both safe and effective. "All you have to do now is wait for the government to make an announcement," he said.

People aged 18 and up are currently eligible to receive vaccinations in the country. Only one coronavirus vaccine, Zydus Cadila's ZyCoV-D from Ahmedabad, has been issued Emergency Use Authorisation (EUA) by the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) for everyone aged 12 and up.

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