Covaxin: Use Of Chloroquine And Corticosteroids May Impair Antibody Response, Says Health Ministry

New Delhi, 15 Jan 2021:

Ahead of the COVID-19 vaccination drive, the Health Ministry has issued an advisory to the states stating that both the vaccines - Covishield and Covaxin - are not recommended for individuals younger than 18 years, pregnant women and lactating mothers. According to the Health Ministry, the use of chloroquine and corticosteroids may impair antibody response in Covaxin, which is India’s first indigenously developed vaccine against the SARS-CoV-2 and developed by Bharat Biotech in partnership with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) - National Institute of Virology (NIV). On January 3, the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) granted emergency-use authorisation to Covaxin and Serum Institute’s Covishield.

As per the Health Ministry, mild adverse event following immunisation (AEFI) such as headache, fatigue, myalgia (pain in muscle), injection site tenderness, malaise (weakness), pyrexia, chills, arthralgia, and nausea are some of the symptoms that may occur following vaccination of Covisheld developed by the Oxford University in collaboration with AstraZeneca. The advisory recommended that paracetamol may be used to get symptomatic relief from post-vaccination adverse reactions. Very rare events of demyelinating disorders have been reported following this vaccination, without the causal relationship establishment, it added. The guidelines also noted that as with other intramuscular injections, Covishield should be given with caution to people with thrombocytopenia - a condition characterised by a low number of platelets in the blood.

In the case of Covaxin, the ministry stated that some mild AEFIs like injection site pain and swelling, fever, headache, body ache, fatigue, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, dizziness-giddiness, tremor, sweating, cold, and cough may occur.

The ministry guidelines also stated that the COVID-19 vaccine and other vaccines should be separated by an interval of at least 14 days.

As India geared up for the launch of its nationwide COVID-19 vaccination drive on 16th January 2021, the Health Ministry released a comparative factsheet for Covishield and Covaxin that will be used during the introduction of the vaccines. The factsheet contains information on the vaccine platform, physical specification, dosage, cold chain storage requirements, contraindications, and minor AEFIS.Times Now