Vero Cell developed 72.4 per cent antibodies: Research

The people administered with the Vero Cell vaccine against COVID-19 are found to have developed 72.4 percent antibody, more than those who have been administered Covishield.

The people who have been Covishield vaccinated are found to have developed 63.3 per cent antibody, according to research conducted by the Nepal Health Research Council.

A total of 1,796 respondents from the Kathmandu Valley (Kathmandu, Lalitpur, and Bhaktapur districts) participated in the research.

There might be different results from the two types of vaccines as the research has taken place long after Covishield was administered to people as compared to Vero Cell, said senior research officer Dr Megha Nath Dhimal at a press conference organised here today by the Council.

"People having been administered Vero Cell has developed much antibody as opposed to Covishield as the research has taken place shortly after the vaccination. Both vaccines are equally effective," he said.

The research-based in three districts of the Kathmandu Valley showed that 65 per cent of vaccinated people had developed anti-body while some of the unvaccinated people had also the presence of anti-body, according to senior research officer Dhimal. As he said, 43.9 per cent of those unvaccinated populations included in the research had the presence of antibodies. Likewise, it was 55.1 percent among those receiving the first dose of the vaccine followed by 82 per cent among the fully vaccinated.

The development of anti-body can be noticed up to 60 days of the jab and it will gradually vanish thereafter. But in some cases, it will remain up to 150 days.

During the research, the level of anti-body was 59.8 per cent among those not confirmed to have been infected.

According to executive chief Dr Pradeep Gyawali, the presence of antibodies was more on those (recovered from virus) who had severe symptoms of COVID-19 than with those having mild symptoms.

The research finding is that the level of anti-body reached up 82.33 percent in the second month of the vaccination and it was dropped to 43.75 per cent in the fourth month.

Similarly, among the chronic patients, 78.9 per cent antibodies were found in the patients with only one chronic disease, 71.69 percent antibodies were found in patients with two chronic diseases and 42.3 per cent antibodies were found in the patients with three chronic diseases.

Executive Director Dr Gyawali said that as antibodies were found in 46 per cent of the participants who had not been vaccinated against COVID-19 and in those in whom the infection was not confirmed, the COVID-19 might have spread at the community level.

Stating that efforts have been made to make the research scientifically sound, he said the antibodies have been found increasing in people who have been vaccinated.

The research was conducted with the support of Kathmandu University covered 1227 male and 579 female participants. The study was conducted on 50.5 percent of persons of the average age and infection was found in 15.4 per cent of the participants.

Among the population getting a full dose of vaccines, 85.2 per cent had been given Covishield vaccines, 14.5 per cent had been given Vero Cell and 0.2 per cent had got other vaccines. Persons who had been given jabs in the duration of 15 days to 150 days participated in the study.