When will Covid vaccines be available for children? Health Minister responds
Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Thursday said that the results of an ongoing research for development of Covid-19 vaccines for children may arrive next month and the antidote may be launched "very soon". He said the Centre is committed to vaccinate every citizen against coronavirus.
"Our aim is to vaccinate every citizen. The Indian government has already given permission to Zydus Cadila and Bharat Biotech to conduct research for developing a COVID-19 vaccine for children.
"We are expecting that results of their research will arrive next month. I am confident that vaccines for children would become a reality very soon," Mandaviya told reporters in Rajkot.
Recently, AIIMS Director Dr. Randeep Guleria had said that data of phase two and three trials of Bharat Biotech's Covaxin on 2 to 18 years age group is expected by September.
The Centre had recently informed the Supreme Court that the vaccine developed by Zydus Cadila will be available soon for children who are 12 and above, subject to statutory permissions.
It is claimed Zydus Cadila's coronavirus vaccine ZyCoV-D can be given to both adults and children.
Meanwhile, Priya Abraham, Director of the National Institute of Virology has said that vaccines for children may be available by September and the trials for inoculating those between 2 to 18 years are underway. She said phase 2/3 clinical trials are in process for those between 2 to 18 years of age.
"Hopefully the results will be available soon and they will be presented to regulators. Probably by September or just after September, we may have a vaccine for children, this is Covaxin," she said.
The trials for Zydus Cadila are on and the vaccine can be made available for inoculating children. "Even that (Zydus Cadila vaccine) will be available," she said.
The NIV is a body under the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) under the Ministry of Health.
READ MORE: COVID-19 vaccines for children may be available by September: NIV director
