India likely to get Covid-19 vaccine for children by September: NIV director Priya Abraham

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India’s Covid-19 vaccination drive is expected to get ramped up soon with the availability of jabs for children. The vaccine for children is expected to receive approval from the government by next month.

Currently in India, two vaccine candidates have been tested among children- Covaxin and ZyCov-D by (Zydus Cadila). 525 volunteers participated in the trial for Covaxin, while 1,000 volunteers in the age group of 12-18 participated in phase II and III of the clinical studies of ZyCov-D.

Priya Abraham, Director of the National Institute of Virology (NIV) while speaking to India Science said that she is hopeful that the results of trials will be out soon and will be submitted to the regulators. India could have vaccines for children by as early as September or just after, she added.

Promising results from the trial

Covaxin producer Bharat Biotech’s MD, Krishna Ella said that Bharat Biotech’s clinical trials are over and they are expecting to get the license for children vaccine by either August-end or September, according to a media report.

He also said that this will be the sole Covid-19 vaccine in the entire world that could be administered to children between the age group of 2-18 years.

A senior official from Pune’s National Institute of Virology (NIV) which partnered with Bharat Biotech for Covaxin stated that the results of the studies are expected to be out soon and will be shortly followed by the approval. ZyCov-D’s data is being assessed by the experts of the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI), the country’s drug regulator for the approval process.

Zydus Cadila said that the vaccine has shown to be 66.6% efficacious. An expert added that ZyCov-D’s early data is showing some promise and they are also anticipating data from the clinical trial of Covaxin.

Another expert at NIV hinted that Covaxin’s assessment might be easier as its efficacy rate has been established and it is already in use. The expert further added that hopes are high for Covaxin since it has received the required approval for adults and will be studied for immunogenicity and safety in children.