Covaxin will get approved for children till September: AIIMS Director

The Director of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Dr. Randeep Guleria revealed that the Covid-19 vaccine, Covaxin of Bharat Biotech International Limited, will supposedly be approved for children till September.

Dr. Guleria told India Today, “After the completion of the second and third phase of trials of Covaxin for children, the trial data would be made available by September and the vaccine itself is likely to be approved in the same month.”

He also added that another vaccine developed by Pfizer-BioNtech on its approval will be another alternative vaccine for children to be inoculated with.

According to the predictions of various experts that the third wave of Covid-19 will affect the children severely, the clinical trials of Covaxin are underway on children from 2-17 years of age at Delhi and Patna. Earlier, on May 12, the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) granted approval to Bharat Biotech for beginning phase 2 and phase 3 trials for children.

Although, Dr. Guleria disagreed with the prediction that the children will be impacted in the third wave, adding there is “no reason to believe this theory.” This synchronizes with the statement given by AIIMS-World Health Organization (WHO) report which revealed the third wave “may not hit children disproportionately.”

He further urged the policymakers to deliberate on resuming the schools, though he also said it should be assured that educational institutes do not turn into “super spreaders”. He recommended that this could be achieved by opening schools on alternative days for the containment zones, and assist the children in adhering to Covid-19 appropriate behavior.

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