White House Chief Medical Adviser Dr Anthony Fauci has said that Covaxin, Indias indigenous COVID-19 vaccine, has been shown to neutralize the B.1.617 variant, also called the Indian double mutant strain.

According to Dr Fauci, the most recent data looked at convalescent sera of COVID-19 cases in individuals who received Covaxin, and it was found to neutralize the 617 variant. Dr Fauci stated that in spite of the actual difficulty being seen in India, vaccination could be a very important antidote against this.

The WHO has stated that the B.1.617 variant, which is feared to be a reason for the surge in COVID-19 cases in India, has been detected in over a dozen other countries… (NDTV (with inputs from PTI), April 28, 2021)