Children’s vaccination trials for Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin Covid-19 are presently continuing, with findings expected in September, according to Dr Randeep Guleria, head of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi. Covaxin shots for youngsters could be available by September, according to the AIIMS director, who informed a Delhi-based news organisation last month.
“The vaccines for children should come out now since studies in India are already there in the vaccines that are available in India. Bharat Biotech study is in the last phase by September, we will have the results,” Dr Guleria said on Friday, according to news agency ANI. ”
According to reports, as part of its vaccine trials for children, the Hyderabad-based pharmaceutical company would administer its indigenous anti-Covid injection to children aged 2 to 6.
Vaccination trials on children have been started in the country in anticipation of a possible third wave of the coronavirus pandemic. In addition to Covaxin, Gujarat-based Zydus Cadila is putting its anti-Covid injection to the test in kids.
Vaccine studies for kids are undertaken by categorising them according to their age, with 175 people from each age group participating. An interim report is planned by the end of August once every participant has received a second dose. On the basis of this intermediate trial data, a decision will be made about whether or not the vaccine is safe for children to use.
The two vaccines that specialists predict will be licenced for children in the near future are Covaxin and Zydus Cadila’s three-dose injection, ZyCov-D, from Ahmedabad. While Covaxin is now being used in a nationwide vaccination campaign, Zydus Cadila filed an emergency use authorization (EUA) application for its vaccine candidate for anyone aged 12 and up on July 1.
“Children were included in the Zydus Cadila vaccine trial, and their data is now available. They’ve already submitted an application for an emergency use permit “Guleria explained.
Officials from the government, on the other hand, have stated that “additional data” is needed before an anti-Covid vaccine may be made available to children.
As of 9 a.m. on Saturday, India had administered a total of 42.78 crore vaccinations. More over 40% of the shots were given to adults between the ages of 18 and 44, 34.1 percent to people between the ages of 45 and 60, and 25.4 percent to people beyond the age of 60.