The drug regulator Subject Expert Committee (SEC) has recommended granting an emergency use authorization to Bharat Biotech's Covaxin for children aged between 2-18 years old. For final approval the SEC has submitted its recommendation to the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI).
The Hyderabad based biotechnology company Bharat Biotech, submitted data from its Covid-19 vaccine trial in children aged 2 to 18 years to the DCGI on 6th October. After being granted approval for conducting trials in children back in May.
Covaxin proved to be about 78 percent effective in clinical trials against the corona virus. Covaxin was tested in the country on three age groups. The first group was examined between 12-18 years old, the second group between 6-12 years and the third group between 2-6 years. ANI tweeted that the subject expert committee has recommended the use of Bharat Biotech's Covaxin to the Drugs Controller General of India for children aged 2-18 years.
India is shifting its focus towards vaccinating children against the corona virus. Already more than 960 million doses have been administered to adults among a population of approximately 1.4 billion. India's drug regulator last month allowed vaccine maker Serum Institute to nominate children aged 7 to 11 years for the trial of US drugmaker Novavax's COVID-19 vaccine.