Guleria said that the clinical trials of Covaxin vaccine are going on among children and the efficacy results are expected to be out by the month of September.
Covid-19 vaccine update: In a crucial statement, AIIMS chief Dr. Randeep Guleria today said that the clinical trials of Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin vaccine are currently being undertaken on children and the results of the same are expected to be released by September. Guleria, who is one of the top health professionals advising the central government on its Covid-19 strategy, said that the clinical trials of Covaxin vaccine are going on among children and the efficacy results are expected to be out by the month of September, news agency ANI quoted.
The statement comes in the wake of a large number of health experts stating that children will be worst affected in the probable third wave of Coronavirus in the country as they remain most vulnerable due to the unavailability of vaccines for children. Experts have noted that the virus is most likely to attack the bodies of children as they remain the single largest non-immunised age group in the country against Coronavirus.
Dr. Guleria on asked about the vaccine availability for children said that Hyderabad-based vaccine manufacturer Bharat Biotech is conducting trials on children and the government will take a call on vaccinating children only after the efficacy of the vaccine among children is established. It is pertinent to note that Bharat Biotech is already supplying Covaxin vaccine doses for the adult vaccination programme currently underway in the country.
Pune-based Serum Institute of India, which is manufacturing AstraZeneca and Oxford University-developed Covishield in the country, has also requested the drug regulator to begin Covavax trials on children. Covavax is the second Coronavirus vaccine that the Pune-based Serum Institute is manufacturing in the country. The vaccine maker is conducting clinical trials of the Covavax vaccine on the adult population and is expected to release its results soon.
