New Delhi: Questions have been raised regarding the availability and use of two vaccines on COVID-19 vaccination for children in India, especially ZyCoV-D from Zydus Cadila and Covaxin from Bharat Biotech. As of now, no official release date has been made for either of the two vaccines.
Whereas ZyCov-D is approved for emergency use in children. Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin, on the other hand, which was recently clinically tested for children in the age group of 2 to 18 years, is currently awaiting DCGI approval.
According to Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, the production of Zydus Cadila is going on at a brisk pace and soon the vaccine for children will be available for administration. However, further discussion will be based on what experts recommend on Covaxin.
Vaccination campaign in India:
In India, the COVID-19 vaccination campaign is going on at a rapid pace. Till 7 am on Tuesday, a total of 1,02,94,01,119 doses have been given to Indians above 18 years.
Zydus-Cadilla Vaccine: So far, Zydus-Cadila’s ZyCoV-D vaccine, which can be given to children over the age of 12, has been approved for emergency use. Zydus-Cadila’s COVID-19 vaccine was recently approved and the company has started production soon after its approval. A decision on its cost can be taken soon.
Expert discussions underway: Apart from this, a clinical trial was conducted on Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin on children aged 2 to 18 years. The Subject Expert Committee (SEC) of the Central Drug Standard Control Organization has sent its recommendations to the DCGI and sought its approval, which is yet to be received.
By next year, children can be vaccinated:
Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said, “We are taking strict precautions when it comes to immunization of children and we will proceed only on the basis of recommendations from experts, to the best of my knowledge, a committee has approved the vaccine.” And the rest of the process is happening fast. Ongoing. At present, the government does not want to rush into vaccinating children. It is expected that from next year healthy children can be vaccinated. Also, comorbid children. Vaccination can be done earlier.
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