Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin, India’s indigenous Covid-19 vaccine has been approved by the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) for emergency use in children aged between 12 to 18 years.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his address to the nation yesterday said that from January 3, India will start rolling out vaccines for children in the age group of 15 to 18 years. He has given his consent for the use of Covaxin in children, making it the second vaccine approved for use in those under the age of 18 in India.

Earlier, Bharat Biotech has submitted data from clinical trials for Covaxin (BBV152) in the 2-18 years age group to the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO). After discussing Bharat Biotech’s EUA application on October 12, the CDSCO’s Subject Expert Committee on COVID-19 recommended issuing emergency use approval to Covaxin for use in the 12-18 year age range with specified standards.

Before Covaxin, Zydus Cadila’s three-dose DNA jab was allowed in August to be used on adults and children over 12. Serum Institute’s Novavax is a third possible vaccine for children, according to DCGI which cleared trials for children aged seven to eleven years old last month.

A fourth option is Biological E’s Corbevax, which has been approved for advanced testing on children over the age of five. It had granted approval to Serum Institute of India (SII) in July to begin phase 2/3 trials of Covovax on children aged 2 to 17 years with a specific condition.

After administering nearly 100 crore doses to adults, India is gradually shifting its emphasis to vaccinate children against the coronavirus.

Globally, all vaccinations have produced fewer antibodies against the Omicron variant, fueling demand for booster doses.

The post Covid-19 vaccination: Covaxin approved for children aged between 12-18 years appeared first on APN News.

Adar Poonawalla, CEO of Serum Institute of India (SII), on December 14 confirmed that the SII is planning to launch the Novavax Covid-19 (vaccine for children) within 6 months.

The Novavax jab, which is being manufactured by the world’s largest producer of vaccines, has shown positive results in trials in children aged three and above, said Adar Poonawalla in a virtual conference organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry.

Poonawalla said that the vaccine manufacturing company Serum Institute of India is likely to launch the Novavax in six months.

Apart from the Novavax vaccine, the Serum Institute of India also makes the AstraZeneca and Sputnik shots. SII’s monthly supply of AstraZeneca vaccine has nearly quadrupled since April to 250 million doses.

A panel of Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) had recently reviewed the SII’s application seeking emergency authorisation of Covid 19 vaccine and sought additional data from the vaccine manufacturing company while noting that the shots have not yet been approved in the country of its origin.

However, the Indian government had recently permitted the export of 20 million doses of Covid 19 vaccine Covovax to Indonesia, manufactured in India by Serum Institute of India, as the shots were not approved for emergency use in the country.

Read Also: Amazon Prime membership to get costlier by 50 percent, know latest plans and benefits

Poonawalla in the virtual conference said that, globally the supply has been outmatched the demand that certain countries have only vaccinated just 10-15% of its population, but they really need to take this tally to at least 60-70%.

However, it is still not clear, when will the vaccine for children will be available in our country.

The post Adar Poonawalla confirms vaccine for children to be available in 6 months appeared first on APN News.

The government would most likely start vaccinating children for Covid-19 from next month i.e August, Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya told Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a BJP parliamentary party meeting on Tuesday.

At the meeting, Mandaviya also said that India is soon going to be the largest vaccine-producing country as more companies will get a production licence to manufacture the Covid vaccine for children.

The development will be a giant step towards breaking the chain of transmission of the deadly virus, amid warnings of the possible third wave of Covid-19, which is expected to hit the nation in September-October. The step will also pave the way towards reopening the school across the country.

Earlier, AIIMS Director Dr Randeep Guleria had said that children may not have a severe infection in the coming wave or will be the ones most affected. He had also said that the Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin and Gujarat-based Zydus Cadila vaccine should be soon available for children. 

In an interview with the news channel, Guleria has said that Covaxin and Zydus Cadila’s candidates are testing vaccines for children. The results of the Covaxin trials are expected by September, while Zydus has already done the trials and they’re waiting for emergency authorization, added Guleria.

National Expert Group on vaccines head, Dr. N. K Arora, had said that with the Zydus vaccine for 12 to 18 year-olds, the vaccination for children will start by September.

Meanwhile, the European medicines watchdog has approved the use of Moderna’s Covid vaccine for children aged 12 to 17. On the other hand, the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine has been already approved by the US Regulator Food and Drug Administration.

Read Also: PM Modi accuses Congress of not letting Parliament function, asks BJP MPs to expose them

So far, India has administered over 44 crore doses of vaccines so far. The government has decided to vaccinate all adults by the end of this year.

The post Covid vaccine for children likely from next month: Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya appeared first on APN News.