Vaccine for kids: Covaxin gets panel nod for children aged 2-18 years

Vaccine for children aged 2-18 in sight in India! The Subject Expert Committee (SEC) of the drug regulator has recommended granting an emergency use authorisation to Bharat Biotech's Covaxin for children aged between 2-18. The SEC has submitted its recommendation to the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) who will take the final call on the approval and roll-out. 

As part of the Phase II/III trial, the two-dose Covaxin was administered to 525 children 28 days apart. Bharat Biotech had received the drug regulators’ nod to conduct the children’s trial in May this year. 

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Covaxin will become the second vaccine cleared for use on kids in India; in August Zydus Cadila's three-dose DNA jab was allowed to be used on children but only over the age of 12.

A third potential vaccine for kids is Serum Institute's Novavax, for which the DCGI last month cleared trials for children between 7 and 11 years.