Kathmandu, April 28. American scientist and immunologist Dr. Anthony Fauci on Tuesday announced that the Made in India anti-covid vaccine COVAXIN can neutralize the new Indian double mutant strain(B.1.617 variant) of the Coronavirus.

COVAXIN developed and supplied by Bharat Biotech is India’s first indigenous Covid-19 vaccine. According to the Indian Council of Medical Research, COVAXIN is 78 percent effective towards the original strain of the COVID-19.

According to a report by the Press Trust of India, DR Fauci said, “Despite the real difficulty that we’re seeing in India, vaccination could be a very, very important antidote against this.”

WHO has reported that the newest Indian double mutant strain (B.1.617 variant) has already been found in 17 countries around the globe.

Background 

With over 17.6 million cases, India has become the second-highest infected country in the world. Moreover, India is also suffering from its rapidly shrinking economy. Therefore, with a population of over one billion, managing the situation is challenging.

India kicked off a nationwide vaccination drive in January, and so far over 147 million vaccination doses have been administered across the country. 

India’s daily COVID-19 new cases reached 3,60,960 and new deaths hit 3,293 during the past 24 hours.

Dr. Fauci wins the Dan David Prize, $1 million for “defending science”