Indian Government Approves First Coronavirus Vaccine For Children Above 12 Years
August 21, 2021 11:22(Image source from: Livemint.com)
Indian Government Approves First Coronavirus Vaccine For Children Above 12 Years:- The Indian Drug Regulator approved the first-ever vaccination for coronavirus that can be given for the children aged above 12 years. Zydus Cadila's coronavirus DNA vaccine is given Emergency Authorization Use in India and this can be given for adults and children aged above 12 years. This is the sixth vaccine approved for usage in India. Zydus Cadila will manufacture close to 100-120 million doses of the vaccine every year and the stockpiling process started recently. Cadila Healthcare Ltd is manufacturing the vaccine in association with the Department of Biotechnology and they applied for emergency use on July 1st and the permissions are granted yesterday. The efficacy rate is 66.6 percent and the trials are conducted on 28,000 volunteers across India in various towns and cities.
The vaccine is named ZyCoV-D and it happens to be the world's first plasmid DNA Vaccine. ZyCoV-D is expected to be launched in September and it is given in three doses. Each shot can be given in a duration of 28 days. ZyCoV-D will use genetic material from the virus and the vaccine instructs RNA or DNA to make a specific protein to boost up the immune system of the human beings. After Covaxin, ZyCoV-D is the second homemade vaccination that got emergency use authorization. ZyCoV-D is expected to be quite effective for Delta and other variants of coronavirus. ZyCoV-D doesn't need a needle to get vaccinated and a needle-free applicator will be used. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that ZyCoV-D is a testimony to the innovative zeal of the Indian scientists.