Understanding The Difference Between Covishield and Covaxin

The second wave of Covid-19 has taken India by a storm. The vaccination is set to roll our for all adults from May 1, 2021. There is a lot of confusion about whether to get vaccinated or not and if yes, then which vaccine should one go for to treat Coronavirus. There are a few factors that differentiate the two vaccines from each other.

The Covaxin(BBV152) is an inactivated SARS-COV-2 virus vaccine whereas Covishield(ChAdOx1) is a Chimpanzee adeno virus vaccine. Now what do these terms exactly mean?

COVAXIN

Covaxin(BBV152) uses inactivated virus approach. When someone is given a Covaxin shot, they are getting injected with the actual SARS-COV-2 virus particles which are inactivated. An inactivated virus will not result in an infection in your body, it is powerless. However, it will do one very crucial thing, it will help your body make SARS-COV-2 specific antibodies.

How Does Covaxin Work on Coronavirus?

The mechanism of an inactivated is very easy to understand. When Covaxin is administered, the T-cells and B-cells detect the inactivated virus particles. The T-cells are responsible for producing memory cells that will remember the virus and B-cells are responsible for producing virus specific antibodies preventing the body from future infections.

COVISHIELD

Covishield, on the other hand, uses Chimpanzee adeno virus approach. When someone gets a Covishield shot, they are not injected with the actual SARS-COV-2 virus but instead are injected with an adeno virus that infects Chimpanzee. The adeno virus which is used in Covishield vaccine is a specific strain of virus that causes cold in Chimpanzees.

How Does Covisheild Work on Coronavirus?

Adeno virus used in Covishield is modified to carry a Coronavirus gene. When Covishield is administered, the adeno virus enters the living cell and the modified gene instructs the cell to produce SARS-COV-2 spike proteins and display it on the surface of the cell. These spike proteins are then detected by the T-cells and B-cells and the body starts building immunity.

The Bottom Line

The bottom line is that Covishield is using adeno virus to make spike protein present on the surface of Coronavirus and Covaxin is using actual Coronavirus.

Which One Should You Get?

There is no good or bad in this. You should go for any vaccine that is available. The mechanism of both the vaccines might be different, but they serve the same goal which is minimizing the chances of hospitalization and death. The best part is that both Covishield and Covaxin are effective against B.1.617(double mutant) variant.

Go get vaccinated as soon as possible. Stay Safe.