This project aims to study the immunogenicity of the COVID-19 vaccines available in India.

Vision

In-depth immunogenicity data and the establishment of platforms to generate data at speed will improve the ability to make public health decisions, such as the number of vaccine doses required with or without SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Description

The kinetics and longevity of the immune response generated by the COVID-19 vaccines available in India, namely Covishield and Covaxin, are not entirely understood. To bridge this knowledge gap, a research study for a multidimensional understanding of immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 is being conducted in two cities, including Pune. More than 300 individuals from Pune City participated in this study over a 15-month period.

Objectives

• To understand differences in magnitude and longevity of humoral and cellular immune responses generated after vaccination in individuals with or without prior SARS-CoV-2 infection based on seropositivity.
• To understand the role of innate immunity, microbiome and micronutrient biomarkers on the immune response to COVID-19 vaccines.

Sponsor

• Hindustan Unilever Ltd.

Partners

• Symbiosis University Hospital and Research Centre, Pune
• KEM Hospital Research Centre – Vadu Rural Health Program, Pune
• St. John’s Research Institute, Bangalore
• Bangalore Baptist Hospital, Bangalore
• National Centre for Biological Sciences, Bangalore
• In-Stem, Bangalore
• Christian Medical College, Vellore
• CSIR – National Chemical Laboratory, Pune
• Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Pune

Publications

• Interim results from comparison of immune responses elicited by an inactivated and a vectored SARS-CoV-2 vaccine in seronegative and seropositive participants in India. Mangaiarkarasi Asokan, Roshni Florina Joan, Sudhir Babji, Girish Dayma, Prajitha Nitheesh, Vinutha Subrahmanyam, Archana Pandey, Girish Malagi, Pooja Arya, Vibhuti Mahajan, Jayateerth Bhavikatti, Ketakee Pawar, Aishwarya Thorat, Priyanki Shah, Ramakrishna B Goud, Bishnudeo Roy, Shon Rajukutty, Sushil Immanuel, Dhiraj Agarwal, Sankhanil Saha, Akshatha Shivaraj, Patricia Panikulam, Rajeshwari Shome, Shah-E-Jahan Gulzar, Anusmrithi U Sharma, Ajinkya Naik, Shruti Talashi, Madhuri Belekar, Ritu Yadav, Poornima Khude, V Mamatha, S Sudarshan, Urmila Deshmukh, Chinmayee Bhise, Manjiri Joshi, Leeberk Raja Inbaraj, Sindhulina Chandrasingh, Aurnab Ghose, Colin Jamora, Anandi S Karumbati, Varadharajan Sundaramurthy, Avita Johnson, Naveen Ramesh, Nirutha Chetan, Chaitra Parthiban, Asma Ahmed, Srabanti Rakshit, Vasista Adiga, George D’souza, Vinay Rale, Carolin Elizabeth George, Jacob John, Anand Kawade, Akanksha Chaturvedi, Anu Raghunathan, Mary Dias, Anand Bhosale, Padinjat Raghu, LS Shashidhara, Annapurna Vyakarnam, Vineeta Bal, Gagandeep Kang, Satyajit Mayor. medRxiv 2023.01.03.22284082, DOI