Covaxin is suitable for children aged 2 to 18.
After authorities granted emergency use authorisation, Covaxin, India's first completely indigenous vaccine, was formally licenced as one of the first COVID-19 immunizations to be administered for children in India, according to sources.
The Subject Expert Committee (SEC), a national immunisation expert panel, has recommended the vaccine, which was developed by Bharat Biotech in Hyderabad, for use in children aged 2 to 18. The SEC's recommendations have been conveyed to the United States' Drugs Controller General.
The official statement
"After extensive debate, the committee recommended the issue of market authorization of the vaccine for the age group of 2 to 18 years for restricted use in an emergency circumstance," according to the SEC's official statement.
Children's efficacy testing
In India, an inactive-virus vaccination called Covaxin has been approved for use in adults. While the vaccine is still in clinical trials, the developers have begun testing the vaccine's efficacy on children in lower age groups at certain AIIMS sites across the country, with a whooping 71 percent efficacy against the SARS-COV-2 virus and its variations. The vaccine's availability in paediatrics and the adolescent population has yet to be determined
In the event of an emergency, here are some vaccination recommendations.
While the effort will connect Indian children with children in other countries who place a high priority on COVID-19 vaccination, the SEC's advice is not without concerns. According to reports, Bharat Biotech would have to meet certain criteria before the vaccine is approved for use:
"Covaxin's developer will continue the study according to the approved clinical trial protocol for Whole Virion, Inactivated Coronavirus Vaccine."
Apart from that, for the first two months, the pharma giant will have to list prescribing information, vaccine factsheets, product features, and statistics on AEFI and AESI every 15 days, as required by the FDA.
Covaxin nod may aid in the protection of children before the third wave.
Given reports that children could be a particularly vulnerable demographic if and when a third COVID wave arrives, the effort has been hailed as a positive beginning. Aside from Covaxin, ZyCOV-D, a one-of-a-kind DNA COVID-19 vaccine, is in development and could be used to immunise younger children first.
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