Question 74 from UPSC CSE 2022 - S&T

Question

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?

Accepted Answer

Correct Option: B. 2 and 3 only

Strategy: - Identify vaccine platform keywords in the statements.
- Exclude options containing statement 1, as Covishield uses a viral vector platform, not an mRNA platform.
- Confirm statement 2 correctly describes Sputnik V as vector-based.
- Confirm statement 3 correctly describes Covaxin as inactivated pathogen-based.
- Conclude that only option B (statements 2 and 3) is valid.

Key Info: ### Covishield
Produced by the Serum Institute of India under license from AstraZeneca and Oxford University, Covishield is a recombinant, replication-deficient chimpanzee adenoviral vector vaccine (ChAdOx1) encoding the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. It is not an mRNA vaccine. mRNA vaccines, like Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, utilize messenger RNA to induce immunity, representing a distinct platform.

### Sputnik V
Developed by Russia's Gamaleya Research Institute, Sputnik V employs a non-replicating viral vector system (adenovirus 26 for the first dose, adenovirus 5 for the second). It delivers the genetic code for the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, stimulating the body's immune response.

### COVAXIN
Developed by Bharat Biotech, COVAXIN is an inactivated virus vaccine. It uses killed SARS-CoV-2 particles, which are incapable of infection but still provoke an immune response. This is a classical vaccine platform, also used in vaccines for diseases like polio and hepatitis A. All three vaccines have received regulatory approvals for use in various countries, with Covishield and COVAXIN being central to India's early COVID-19 vaccination efforts.

Answer

Option A: 1 and 2 only

Answer

Option C: 1 and 3 only

Answer

Option D: 1, 2, and 3