GEMCOVAC-OM [India’s First mRNA Vaccine Against Omicron]

In June 2023, the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) approved an mRNA COVID-19 booster vaccine called GEMCOVAC-OM manufactured by Pune-based Gennova Biopharmaceuticals. In this article, you can read more about the new vaccine for the IAS exam science and technology, as well as health segments

GEMCOVAC-OM 

The Vaccine which received emergency use authorisation from the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) will act against the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV2. 

• The vaccine is the need of the hour as there is a need for a booster dose and original vaccines have limited efficacy against the omicron lineage.
• GEMCOVAC-OM is said to have demonstrated robust immune responses in phase 3 clinical trials conducted at 20 centres across 13 cities in India. 
• The current vaccines used for booster doses are designed against older strains of SARS-COV-2.
• Though they will boost immunity, their ability to neutralise the circulating Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 is limited.
• Developing antibodies and memory immune responses specific to the Omicron variant would reduce the probability of infection and hospitalisation and prevent future waves of the pandemic.
• GEMCOVAC-OM is the first mRNA-based vaccine in India. 

What is an mRNA Vaccine?

General traditional vaccines function by way of introducing antigens and stimulating an antibody response. But mRNA vaccines are different from traditional vaccines.

• mRNA fragment is a piece of virus that carries instructions to build antigens of the virus. mRNA vaccines inject a fragment of the RNA sequence of a virus directly into the cells, which then stimulates an adaptive immune response.
• One of the crucial advantages of  RNA vaccines is their ability to stimulate cellular immunity.
• However mRNA vaccines will require cold conditions for storage as unlike traditional DNA vaccines, mRNA vaccines are more fragile as the molecules degrade within minutes when exposed to the outside environment.
• mRNA vaccines trick the body into producing some of the viral proteins themselves. They work by using messenger RNA or mRNA, which is the molecule that essentially puts DNA instructions into action. mRNA is used as a template to build a protein inside a cell.

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