(Image source from: Reuters.com)

Expert Panel Recommends Usage Of Covaxin For Kids:- On Tuesday, an expert panel recommended the Bharat Biotech's Covaxin for emergency use on children between the age group of 2 and 18 years. Bharat Biotech completed the second and third phase of clinical trials and they submitted the data to the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) recently. The data was reviewed by the Subject Expert Committee and they recommended the usage of Covaxin for children aged between 2 and 18 years. "This represents one of the first approvals worldwide for COVID-19 vaccines for the two - 18 age group... We now await further regulatory approvals prior to product launch and market availability of Covaxin for Children," told Covaxin.

The final approval will be given by the Drug Controller General of India. Covaxin is the second vaccine cleared for use for children in India after Zydus Cadila's three-dose DNA jab which was approved in August. Serum Institute's Novavax and Biological E's Corbevax are the other vaccines that completed the clinical trials. Bharat Biotech submitted the data of the clinical trials on children last week. The tests were conducted on 1000 plus children across the country and the efficacy rates are similar to that on the adults. Covaxin for coronavirus showed 77.8 percent efficiency in protecting against the virus. Around 96 crores vaccine doses are given to adults in the country till date and 30 crore Indians are vaccinated completely.