India to start vaccinating children against COVID from August: Report

The government of India will likely start vaccinating children against COVID-19 from August. This was conveyed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi by Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya at the meeting of the BJP’s parliamentary party on Tuesday, reports ndtv quoting sources.

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This comes days after AIIMS director Dr Randeep Guleria said that vaccines for children would be made available in India by September. “I think Zydus has already done the trials and they’re waiting for emergency authorisation. The Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin trials should be over by August or September, and by that time we should get an approval. Pfizer vaccine has already been approved by the FDA. Hopefully, by September, we should start vaccinating children, and that will be a big boost as far as breaking the chain of transmission is concerned,” Dr Guleria told the website.

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Dr Guleria also advocated opening of schools  in a staggered manner as, according to him, children have had a good deal of exposure to the virus in India and that many of them have developed natural immunity. Most schools in India have been shut since March 2020, when the first lockdown was announced after COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic.

India’s pharmaceuticals and medical devices regulator, DCGI, had approved clinical trials for the indigenously-developed Covaxin in children on May 11. Covaxin is currently being tested on children between 2-12 years of age and Dr Guleria has said that the results are encouraging.

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Let’s look at the other vaccine options for children:

Covaxin: This vaccine by Bharat Biotech is undergoing children’s trials in three separate groups — 2-6 years, 6-12 years and 12-18 years. The clinical trials were first started in AIIMS Patna and later in AIIMS, Delhi. Results are expected by September.

Zydus Cadila: Zydus Cadila has concluded their clinical trials on children and their vaccine ZyCoV-D for the age group 12-18 is expected to hit the market soon. A Health Ministry official recently said, that subject to statutory permission, Ahmedabad-based Zydus Cadila’s DNA vaccine “may be available in the near future for children of the 12-18 age group “.

Pfizer: Pfizer-BioNTech’s vaccine for children is yet to be okayed for sale in India. US vaccine makers Moderna and Pfizer have been insisting on an indemnity clause, seeking certain waivers,  before committing to supplying the vaccines.

Moderna: The Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine was recently cleared in Europe for use on children aged 12 to 17, making it the second jab for adolescents on the continent. The vaccine, which was tested on 3,732 children aged 12 to 17 years, will be given in two injections, each four weeks apart.

Sputnik V: Sputnik V vaccine trials on children aged 12-17 years have already started. A smaller dose of the vaccine than what is usually administered for adults, is being used on children. The formulation of the vaccine will remain the same.