Serum Institute of India has confirmed that a group of 230 children between the ages of two to six have become the youngest in the nation to be administered with a dose of a Covid-19 vaccine.
The kids became the youngest in India to get the Covid-19 jab after they took part in the trial of Serum Institute’s Covovax vaccine and were given one dose of it, the Times of India reported. The trial is going on across 10 hospital sites in the country, two being in Pune, and will be completed by the end of May.
The next dose will be administered 21 days from now, SII said according to the TOI report. “This (the 230) is the youngest age group which has been given a Covid shot as part of the advanced human trials of Covovax vaccine in India,” a senior official of the Pune-based vaccine maker who is overseeing the trials on children across the 10 sites was quoted as saying.
The Phase 2 and Phase 3 trials of Covovax that began in August saw the participation of a total of 920 children, with 460 being in the 12-17 age group, 230 being in the 7-11 age group while another 230 being in the 2-6 age group.
The Serum Institute had first begun the trial of Covovax on adolescents, following which it was given permission to conduct the same on children. “We first did that in adolescents and then included childrenin the 7-11 age group. Later, we recruited kids in 2-6 age bracket after seeking due regulatory permissions,” TOI quoted the official as saying. He added that the participants will be followed up for six months after they receive two doses of Covovax.
Besides Covovax, Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin is also being tried upon children. The vaccine is already being used on beneficiaries aged 15 and above.
Serum Institute of India has sought emergency use authorisation from India’s drug regulator for Covovax for the 12 to 17 year age group, official sources said on Monday. The government has not yet decided on vaccinating those aged below 15. The Health Ministry had recently said the additional need for vaccination and inclusion of population for inoculation is examined constantly.
The Drugs Controller General Of India has already approved Covovax for restricted use in emergency situations in adults on December 28. Covovax is manufactured by technology transfer from Novavax and is approved by the European Medicines Agency for conditional marketing authorisation. It has been granted emergency use listing by the World Health Organisation on December 17, 2021.
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