‘COVID Vaccine For Children In India By September Or Just After It’

Pune: India is likely to have an indigenous COVID-19 vaccine for children by September, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)’s National Institute of Virology (Pune) director Priya Abraham has said.

“Presently, Phase II and III trials of COVAXIN are going on for children in the age group of 2-18 years. Hopefully, the results are going to be available very soon. The results will be presented to the regulators. So, by September or just after it, we may have COVID-19 vaccines for children,” Abraham said in an interview with India Science, an OTT channel of the science and technology department.

This apart, Zydus Cadila’s vaccine trial is also going on and this can also be applied for children and made available, she added.

She further said the Delta-plus variant is less likely to spread than the Delta variant itself. “Delta variant, which is highly transmissible, has spread to over 130 countries. We have studied the antibodies produced in the bodies of vaccinated people and checked them against this variant. Though the efficacy of antibodies against this variant has been reduced two to three folds, the vaccines are still protective against it,” she said.