Children look at a mural depicting frontline workers fighting against COVID-19 in Kolkata.
Priya Abraham, director of the National Institute of Virology, said vaccines could be available for children by September and trials are underway to vaccinate children between the ages of 2 and 18. In an interview to India Science, an OTT platform of the Department of Science and Technology, Abraham said phase 2/3 clinical trials are in the process for people aged 2 to 18 years.
“Hopefully the results will be available soon and they will be presented to regulators. Maybe by September or right after September, we can have a vaccine for children, that’s Covaxin,” she said.
Trials of Zydus Cadila are ongoing and the vaccine may be made available for children who are vaccinated. “Even (the Zydus Cadila vaccine) will be available,” she said.
NIV is a body under the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) under the Ministry of Health.
Last month, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya told BJP MPs that Kovid vaccination for children is likely to start soon. Currently, only people who are 18 years of age or older are eligible for vaccination against the coronavirus.
Regarding other vaccine candidates, Abraham said that apart from Zydus Cadila, which will be the first DNA vaccine, another vaccine from Genova, which is an mRNA vaccine, biological E and Novavax’s vaccine candidate, which is being developed by Serum Institute of India. will be manufactured. are in the pipeline.
Responding to a question on the Delta-Plus variant, it said that this variant is less likely to spread than the Delta variant.
He said the antibodies produced in the bodies of vaccinated people were tested against this type and it was found that the efficacy of the antibodies was reduced by two to three times. “Even so, vaccines are still protective against the variants,” she said.
Vaccines may show little effect, but they are very important for preventing serious diseases that can lead to hospitalization and even death. “So, whatever the type, the vaccine is so far protective against everyone, including the delta variant. So, there should be no hesitation,” she said.
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