New Delhi: There have been questions about the COVID-19 vaccination for children in India, particularly regarding the availability and use of two vaccines, ZyCoV-D from Zydus Cadila and Covaxin from Bharat Biotech. So far, no official release date has been communicated for either of the two vaccines.
While ZyCov-D has been approved for emergency use in children. On the other hand, Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin, which has recently undergone clinical trials in children aged 2 to 18, is currently awaiting approval from the DCGI.
According to Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, production of Zydus Cadila is underway at a rapid rate and the vaccine would soon be available for administration to children. However, a more in-depth discussion would be based on what experts advise about Covaxin.
The vaccination campaign in India:
In India, the COVID-19 vaccination campaign is underway at a rapid pace. At 7 a.m. on Tuesday, a total of 1,02,94,01,119 doses were administered to Indians over the age of 18.
Zydus-Cadila Vaccine: So far, Zydus-Cadila’s ZyCoV-D vaccine, which can be given to children over 12 years of age, has been approved for emergency use. Zydus-Cadila’s COVID-19 vaccine was recently approved, and the company began production shortly after its approval. A decision on its pricing could be taken soon.
Ongoing Expert Discussion: Apart from this, a clinical trial has been conducted with Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin for use in children aged 2-18. The Central Drug Standard Control Organization’s Subject Matter Expert Committee (SEC) has sent its recommendations to DCGI and requested its approval, which has yet to be received.
Children could be vaccinated by next year:
Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said: “We are very careful when it comes to immunizing children and we would only proceed on the basis of the recommendations we receive from. ‘experts. To my knowledge, a committee has approved the vaccine and the remaining process is quick. Currently, the government does not want to accelerate the deployment of vaccines for children. It is expected that healthy children can be vaccinated from next year. At the same time, comorbid children could be vaccinated earlier.
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