A new coronavirus vaccine developed by Ahmedabad-based Zydus Cadila will be available soon for children aged between 12-18 years, the central government said in an affidavit to the Supreme Court on Saturday.
Briefing the apex court on the status of vaccine availability for children, the Central government also said that the Drugs Controller General of India on May 12 gave permission to Bharat Biotech to conduct clinical trials of its Covid-19 vaccine, Covaxin, on volunteers between 2 to 18 years of age. The affidavit added that the enrolment process for clinical trials has also begun.
The government said, “as of now, the companies’ manufacturing Covid-19 vaccines in India have only been given ‘Emergency Use Authorization’ for vaccinating people of 18 years age and above. Therefore, Covid-19 vaccines are not recommended for children less than 18 years of age and is due to the fact that the clinical trial cohort during Phase 1, 2 and 3 did not cover the children below 18 years of age."
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The centre also briefed the court about its plans to vaccinate all adults in the country by the end of the year.
In answer to the Supreme Court’s questions on access and equity, the Centre told the court that until the end of this year, it expected to get 188 crore vaccine doses from at least five manufacturers which would fully inoculate the total 94-crore population above 18.
Saying that 51.6 crore doses would be made available by July 31, the Centre, in an affidavit filed by Manohar Agnani, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, presented a roadmap to show how it proposes to procure the balance 135 crore from August to December 31 (see chart) from five manufacturers.
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In its affidavit, the Centre said that based on supply estimates, it estimates 51.6 crore cumulative vaccinations by the end of July.
The Centre said the projected availability of vaccines from August to December will cover the balance 135 crore doses as per this break-up: 50 crore doses of Covishield, 40 crore doses of Covaxin, 30 crore doses of Bio E’s sub unit vaccine, 5 crore doses of Zydus Cadila DNA vaccine and 10 crore doses of Sputnik V.
The government also said this “does not include other vaccines which are at various stages of development as on date within the country and may come and become available”.
The centre also said it has asked states to probe fake vaccine camps and take strict action against those responsible.
