Covaxin vs Covishield – Which One is Better: Covid-19 has adversely affected the whole world. India’s vaccination drive is the largest vaccination (free) drive in the world. The first phase of vaccination in India was started in January 2021 under which all the health professionals and frontlines were vaccinated. The vaccines which are being administered under this vaccination drive are Covishield and Covaxine. As these are domestic vaccines, people are always found debating on Covaxin vs Covishield. Although, India is now in its third phase of vaccination, and there are still questions in the minds of the citizens regarding the efficacy, side effects, rates of the two vaccines.
Covaxin and Covishield are the two very own vaccines of India which have been manufactured by Indian institutes i.e., Bharat Biotech and Serum Institute respectively. India is under the third stage of the vaccination drive under which all the citizens of age above 18 years are targeted to be inoculated. These two are the indigenous vaccines for Covid-19 in India which are not only protecting Indian Citizens but also to other countries.

Covaxin vs Covishield
It has been more than a year since the first case of Covid-19 was identified in India. Initially, there was no medicine to cure this deadly, no complete information was available, research was under process and there was no vaccine available. This created huge tension across the countries as a huge number of people was dying. Now, the mortality rate has been reduced and the situation is coming back to normal as the vaccination is available. When we talk about India, it has recently experienced the 2nd wave of Covid-19 but the vaccination process is now underway and around 94 crore people have been completely vaccinated. Although the number of fully vaccinated persons is low when we compare it to other countries and the population of the country. We should be happy that people are being vaccinated free of cost and the Government is tirelessly working to vaccinate all the citizens.
It is advised to all the citizens to get vaccinated before the third wave hits the country as it could be more hazardous than previous waves. This is predicted as day-by-day new variants of Coronavirus are being discovered. The government is providing Covaxin and Covishield free of cost to the citizens. The choice of vaccine completely depends upon the people. They are free to choose the vaccine by which they wish to get administered provided they have to register for the vaccination center where the respective vaccine is available.
Both Covishield and Covaxin are Indian vaccines and have shown positive results. Although they both do not provide efficacy against the virus but provide a safeguard against the disease. Where Covishield is used widely and is popular in India, Covaxin is considered to be a little more effective than Covishield. They are mostly similar and provide the same benefits but there are some dissimilarities which we have discussed below in this post.
If you are also one of those who have confusion among Covaxin and Covishield then this article is particularly for you. Here we have discussed all the aspects of both the vaccines and have provided a comparison by which you can conclude which vaccine is the best. So, take a quick tour of the article and get the details of the best Indian vaccine.
Covaxin vs Covishield – Overview
Name of the Vaccines | Covaxin and Covishield |
Category | Article |
Protection Against | Covid-19 disease |
Virus | Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) |
Developed By | Covaxin- Bharat Biotech International Covidshield – Serum Institute of India Pvt. Ltd. |
Year of introduction | 2020 |
Country of Origin | India |
No. of Doses | 2 |
The duration between two doses | Covaxin- 28 days Covishield- Nearly 12 weeks |
Also Check:
- Covid Vaccination Certificate – Download
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Difference Between Covaxin and Covishield
You can clear your doubts about the two vaccines by reading some major differences between these vaccines. So, go through the table below and decide which better-
Parameters | Covaxin | Covishield |
Origin | India | India |
Manufacturer/ Developer | Bharat Biotech International Ltd. in collaboration with the National Institute of Virology (NIV) and Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) | Serum Institute of India (SII) Developed by Oxford University in association with AstraZeneca |
Type of Vaccine | Inactivated (dead) viral vaccine | It has been prepared by the Viral vector platform |
Number of doses | 2 | 2 |
Interval between doses | 28 Days | 84 Days |
Storage Temperature | 2-8 Celsius | 2-8 Celsius |
Age of eligible beneficiary | 18 years and above | 18 years and above |
Administration mode | Intramuscular vaccines | Intramuscular vaccines |
Price of Vaccine | Government center- Rs.1410/- Private center- Rs.150/- | Government center- Rs.150/- Private center- Rs.780/- |
Efficacy | 78% – 81% | 82% after the second dose |
Side Effects | Pain on the site Body pain Headache Joint pain Fever Uneasiness | Pain on the site Body pain Headache Joint pain Fever Uneasiness |
Availability | At Government and private vaccination centre | At Government and private vaccination center |
Authorization or beneficiaries below 18 years | No, trials are underway | No |
Useful Links
Cowin Registration | Click Here |
Cowin Vaccine Certificate | Click Here |
Winding Up
Vaccination is the need of the hour in these tough times as currently, it is the only protection against the deadly virus. Delaying vaccination is not the right decision when we are at a stage where we can expect a deadly third wave of the pandemic. It is better to get vaccinated as soon as possible for the people who have still not taken the jab. If you are worried about the efficacy of both vaccines then there is not much difference. When it comes to efficacy, then Sputnik of Russia is much more efficient than these two is now available in India.