India could get Covid-19 vaccine for children as Zydus Cadila set to seek permission for ZyCoV-D
Zydus Cadila is testing its Covid-19 vaccine ZyCov-D on children in the age group of 12-18 years and is likely to apply for licensure of the vaccine in the next two weeks, a senior government official said.
The NITI Aayog (health) member VK Paul said during the briefing of the health ministry that not only Covaxin is conducting child trials but also Zydus Cadila's COVID-19 vaccine is already being tested on children.
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So when Zydus comes for licensure, hopefully in the next two weeks, maybe we would have enough data on the view of whether that vaccine can be given to children, he added.
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He further said that "We have to understand that the child cohort is not a small cohort and if it is between 12 to 18 years, this itself is about 13 to 14 crore population." For this, we will need about 25-26 crore doses, he added.
ZyCov-D, the Covid-19 vaccine of Zydus, is being developed with the support of the National Biopharma Mission as part of the Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council, department of biotechnology.
According to the Phase 3 trial protocol, the vaccine, which is to be administered in three doses, is being tested on 30,000 volunteers.
Meanwhile, the company said that the vaccine is very stable at 2 to 8 degrees as a result of a normal refrigeration temperature. The vaccine is thermostable at 25 degrees, it said further.
As per the report, Zydus Cadila is planning to start the trials of ZyCoV-D in children in the age group of 5-12 years.
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