Bharat Biotech Covaxin Can Now Be Tested On Children As Young As 2-Year-Old

Bharat Biotech chairman and managing director Dr. Krishna Ella announced on Monday that their vaccine can now be tested on children as young as 2-years-old. Covaxin, which became the first COVID-19 vaccine to be tested on children aged between 12 to 15 years old will now be tested on toddlers as well.

In a virtual interaction that was widely reported, the managing director said, “Currently we are planning a clinical trial on children, those between the age of 2 and 15 years. We are also going to submit a proposal to the Subject Expert Committee soon for the same.”

Adding further, Dr. Krishna Ella also mentioned that the injectable polio vaccine they gave to a newborn baby has proven to be successful and safest for children. 

Covaxin has shown less than 10 % adverse reactions, while others have 60-70% adverse reactions.AstraZeneca was giving 4g paracetamol to volunteers to suppress such reactions. We haven’t given paracetamol to any volunteer. I can assure our vaccine is a 200 % safe:Bharat Biotech MD pic.twitter.com/PikeDn0v3D

— ANI (@ANI) January 4, 2021

Also Read: 10 Things To Know About the Bharat Biotech Vaccine Covaxin Against COVID-19

Covaxin is an indigenous COVID-19 vaccine developed by India based Bharat Biotech. The vaccine is developed in a collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) as well as the National Institute of Virology (NIV). Moreover, Covaxin was the first COVID-19 vaccine that began testing trials on children in September.

As per the company reports, Covaxin has been evaluated in approximately 1000 subjects in Phase I and Phase II clinical trials, with promising safety and immunogenicity results, with acceptance in international peer-reviewed scientific journals.

Which Are the Other Vaccines?

Besides Covaxin, Pfizer and Moderna vaccines also began testing trials on children aged 12-years-old in the month of October and December respectively.

How much is the Covaxin?

The price of Covaxin is reportedly fixed around Rs 350. This is not confirm by the company as yet. The MD of Bharat Biotech has previously said, it will cost 'less than a bottle of water.'

Also Read: Covaxin Phase I Trial Results: Vaccine Induced Antibody And Showed No Serious Side Effects