Covaxin use approved for kids aged between 2-18 years old
The country's first fully homegrown vaccine, Covaxin has been officially approved as one of the first COVID-19 vaccines to be available for children in India, reports suggest after authorities granted emergency use authorisation.
Also read: Will the third wave be riskier for kids?
The vaccine, which has been developed by Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech, has been recommended for use in kids aged between the ages of 2-18 by The Subject Expert Committee (SEC), an expert panel on vaccination in the country. The recommendations by the SEC have been submitted to the Drugs Controller General of India (DGCI), which grants the final nod.
The official statement
Statements from the SEC read: “After detailed deliberation, the committee recommended for grant of market authorization of the vaccine for the age group of 2 to 18 years for restricted use in an emergency situation."
Efficacy testing among kids
Covaxin, which is an inactive-virus vaccine, has been authorised for use amongst adults in India. Delivering a whopping 71% efficacy against the SARS-COV-2 virus and its variants, while the vaccine is still undergoing further clinical trials, the developers had kickstarted their clinical trials at select AIIMS centres across the country, to test the efficacy of the vaccine on kids in younger age groups. However, it is yet to be revealed as to when would the vaccine be properly available for use in the pediatric and teen population.
Guidelines for emergency inoculation
While the development will get children living in India at par with other countries prioritizing COVID-19 vaccination for kids, the SEC recommendation has been, however, subject to some conditions. As per reports, Bharat Biotech will have to take care of some conditions before the vaccine gets a full go-ahead for use:
"The developer of Covaxin will continue the study as per Whole Virion, Inactivated CoronaVirus Vaccine the approved clinical trial protocol"
Apart from this, the pharma major will also have to list prescribing information, vaccine factsheet, product characteristics, data on AEFI and AESI every 15 days for the first two months, in accordance with the Clinical Trials Rules mandated in India.
Covaxin nod may help protect kids before the third wave
The move has been hailed as a welcome move, considering reports which state that kids may be a much-affected group if and when a third COVID wave is to come.
Apart from Covaxin, ZyCOV-D, which is a one-of-a-kind DNA COVID-19 vaccine is also being developed and may be pushed into use to immunize younger kids first.