Coronavirus vaccine for children might be available for use in September or October this year, Dr Priya Abraham, the Director of Pune's (Indian Council of Medical Research) ICMR-National Institute of Virology (NIV) informed.
In an interview with an OTT channel of the Department of Science and Technology, Abraham said, "Phase 2 and 3 trials of Covaxin are underway for children between 2-18 years. Hopefully, the results will be available soon, which will then be presented to the regulators. So, by September or just after it, we may have COVID-19 vaccines for children."
Further, she informed that apart from the Covaxin, Zyuds Cadila's vaccine trial for children is also underway. "Zydus Cadila's vaccine will be the first DNA vaccine available for use. Besides, there is Gennova Biopharmaceuticals Ltd's m-RNA, Biological -E vaccine, Serum Institute's Novovax and another interesting one is an intranasal vaccine by Bharat Biotech, which doesn't require a jab and can be delivered through nostrils," Abraham added.
Earlier in an interview with ANI, Dr Randeep Guleria, Director of AIIMS, on the COVID-19 vaccines for children had said, "Vaccines for children in India should come out now because trials are already underway for vaccines available in the country. Bharat Biotech's trials are in the final phase, and by September, we will have the data."
Talking about how effective the COVID-19 vaccine is on the Delta Plus variant, Dr Priya Abraham said, "Delta Plus variant is less likely to spread than the Delta variant, which is present in over 130 countries. In NIV, we have studied antibodies produced in vaccinated people and have checked them against this variant. The efficacy of antibodies against Delta reduces two-three folds. Yet, the vaccines are protective against the variants."
Saying that the WHO has put a momentary stop on the booster dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, she said, "Studies (on booster dose) have been going on overseas. At least seven different vaccines have been tried out for booster doses. The WHO has put a stop to it till more countries catch up with vaccination, but in the future, recommendations for booster dose will definitely come."
Recently, speaking about booster dose, Dr Gagandeep Kang, professor at Christain Medical College, Vellore, on Tuesday, had said that whether people will have more antibodies or will be better protected with the booster dose is still not known.
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Dear Reader,
Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance.
We, however, have a request.
As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed.
Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard.
Digital Editor
RECOMMENDED FOR YOU