Technology : Health And Diseases

Q 3 / 28

UPSC CSE Prelims 2022

In the context of vaccines manufactured to prevent COVID-19 pandemic, consider the following statements:

  1. The Serum Institute of India produced COVID-19 vaccine named Covishield using mRNA platform.
  2. Sputnik V vaccine is manufactured using vector based platform.
  3. COVAXIN is an inactivated pathogen based vaccine.
Which of the statements given above are correct?

EXPLANATION

Correct Option

Statement 2 is correct. Sputnik V, developed by the Gamaleya Research Institute, is a vector-based vaccine. It employs two different human adenoviruses (Ad26 and Ad5) as vectors to deliver genetic material for the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, thereby inducing an immune response.

Statement 3 is correct. COVAXIN, developed by Bharat Biotech in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), is an inactivated whole-virion vaccine. This technology utilizes a chemically or physically inactivated form of the SARS-CoV-2 virus to stimulate the immune system without causing infection.

Incorrect Options

Statement 1 is incorrect. Covishield, produced by the Serum Institute of India, is based on a viral vector platform, not an mRNA platform. It uses a chimpanzee adenovirus (ChAdOx1) as a vector to deliver the genetic code for the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. mRNA vaccines, such as those developed by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, deliver messenger RNA to instruct human cells to produce the viral spike protein.

Option (a) is incorrect because it includes statement 1.

Option (c) is incorrect because it includes statement 1 and omits statement 2.

Option (d) is incorrect because it includes statement 1.

SOURCEScience & Technology by Ravi Agrahari, Chapter: Health and Diseases