Vaccination Of Children May Start Soon, Zydus Cadila Seeks Permission From DCGI For Emergency Use Of Vaccine
New Delhi, 1st July 2021: India may soon get another vaccine in the fight against Corona. Vaccination of children above twelve years of age may start very soon in the country. Zydus Cadila has developed a DNA vaccine for twelve-year-old children and older. The company has completed Phase III trials and has sought permission for emergency use from the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI).
Dr. NK Arora, President of the Covid Working Group, informed on Sunday that Zydus Cadila’s Corona vaccine for children above twelve years of age is expected to be available by August. Its trial will be completed by the end of July. Zydus Cadila is the world’s first DNA-based Corona vaccine. Earlier on July 18th, Dr. VK Paul, Member (Health) of NITI Aayog had said that Zydus Cadila has enrolled over 28,000 volunteers for its Phase III study.
If this vaccine is approved, then India will have another vaccine for Corona available. This will be the second indigenous vaccine of Corona after Covaccine. It is a three-dose vaccine. The second dose will be given 28 days after the first dose and the third dose will be given 56 days later. The company has said that it is also working on bringing a two-dose vaccine.
At present, people above eighteen years are being vaccinated in the country. These three vaccines are, Serum Institute’s Covishield, Bharat Biotech’s Covaccine, and Russia’s Sputnik V. Recently, Moderna’s vaccine has also been approved for use. So far, more than 33 crore doses have been administered in the country since the vaccination started on January 16.
