The trials of Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin on children are underway and the results are expected by September, news agency quoted AIIMS director Dr Randeep Guleria as saying. Randeep Guleria’s statement comes as the second dose of Covaxin is likely to be administered to children aged 2-6 years in trials next week.
The second dose of Covaxin has already been given to children between the ages of 6-12 years at the Delhi AIIMS. On June 22, Randeep Guleria had told India Today TV that a Covid-19 vaccine would be available for children by September. Besides Covaxin, the trials for Zydus Cadila’s vaccine for children are also currently underway in the country.
On June 7, Delhi AIIMS started screening children between the age of 2 to 17 for trials of Covid-19 vaccine. On May 12, the DCGI granted permission to Bharat Biotech to carry out phase 2, phase 3 trials of Covaxin on children as young as two. The trial is conducted by segregating children into categories according to their age, in which 175 children of each age group have been included. An interim report will be released after the completion of the second dose, which would make it clear how safe the vaccine is for children.With the fear of a third Covid-19 wave looming large, some experts have raised concerns that a proportionately higher number of children will be infected in the next wave.
News Source : ANI News
