It was remarkable how quickly our scientists and researchers were able to formulate a vaccine for corona virus, which gave us different types of vaccines we today. 

In India there are several vaccines that have been approved by the government, including Covaxin, Covishield, Sputnik V and Moderna. All 4 vaccines have passed the WHO standard of approval, has tolerable efficacy rates and mitigate dangers. Out of all 4, Covishield and Covaxin have been the most popular and most of the people are getting vaccinated from either of the two. 

COVAXIN, which is India's indigenous COVID-19 vaccine and is developed by Bharat Biotech in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) - National Institute of Virology (NIV). The vaccine is developed using Whole-Virion Inactivated Vero Cell derived platform technology. Inactivated vaccines do not replicate inside the host and are therefore unlikely to revert back to pathogenic state and cause pathological effects. Covaxin is an inactivated whole virus vaccine, containing SARS-CoV-2 particles that have been chemically deactivated. After the chemical deactivation, the corona virus can no longer infect cells, but still stimulate a protective immune response. Because the viral particles cannot cause disease, Covaxin is suitable for people with compromised immune systems. 

On the other hand, Covishield (Oxford-AstraZeneca) which is developed by the University of Oxford along with British pharmaceutical major AstraZeneca and is being manufactured in the Serum Institute of India. Covishield is a type of a viral vector vaccine, where an adenovirus (ChAd0x1) found in chimpanzees is used to deliver the spike proteins of corona virus of stimulate a tolerable immune response. The efficacy rate of a vaccine determines how effective it will be, the workability of the vaccines under clinical settings and how potent it will be in real world scenarios. 

Covishield vaccine, the first to be approved in India has an efficacy rate of 70% which jumps upto 91% after administration of the second dose. Covaxin shows an efficacy rate of 78%, additionally providing 100% protection against severity and mortality. To help boost vaccination drive, COVID-19 vaccines have been made available free of cost at government institutions and hospitals in India. The Covishield is being administered for free in government vaccination centres, while at private hospitals, the charges have been capped at Rs 780, which included a GST of Rs 150. While, the Covaxin is also being administered for free at government vaccination centres while at private hospitals, the charges have been capped at Rs 1,410, which includes Rs 150 in GST.

The side effects of both the vaccines are very rare, Covaxin can cause pain, or redness at the site of injection, body pain, headache, whereas Covishield also can cause pain at the site of injection, headache, body pain. It is important for people who get vaccinated to report any symptoms to the health care personnel quickly. Both of the vaccines are effective and provide protection from the corona virus, which makes it very crucial to get vaccinated at the earliest.