New Delhi | Jagran Press Office: Novavax Inc said on Tuesday evening that its coronavirus vaccine had obtained approval from the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) for use in children aged 12 to 17, reported Reuters. It comes nearly four months after the drug regulator authorized Novavax’s COVID-19 vaccine for people aged 18 and over.

Novavax’s vaccine will be manufactured locally by the Serum Institute of India (SII) in the country under the brand name Covovax. The vaccine, according to Novavax, is 80% effective against COVID-19 in “a late-stage trial testing the vaccine in 2,247 adolescents aged 12 to 17.”

With DCGI’s approval, it became the fourth COVID-19 vaccine to be licensed for children over 13 after Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin, Zydus Cadila’s ZyCoV-D and Biological E’s Corbevax.

The vaccination campaign in India was launched on January 16, 2021 after the DCGI gave its approval to Covaxin from Bharat Biotech and Covishield from SII. Initially, the campaign was limited to healthcare workers and frontline staff, but was later expanded gradually.

On March 14, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya announced that vaccination of children aged 12 to 14 would start from March 16. However, Mandaviya had said Biological Evans’ Corbevax would only be given to 12-14 year olds. age range.

“If the children are safe, then the country is safe! I am happy to inform that COVID vaccination for children aged 12-13 and 13-14 years old starts from March 16,” he said in a Tweet in Hindi. .

Later, the Center advised states and union territories (UTs) to ensure that only those who have reached the age of 12 by the date of vaccination are vaccinated against COVID-19.

During a virtual meeting with States and UTs, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan clarified that if the beneficiary is registered but has not reached the age of 12 on the date of vaccination, the vaccine will not be administered.

Posted by:
Aalok Sensharma