DCGI approves Covaxin for emergency use in children between 6 to 12 years

As India is witnessing a rise in Covid-19 infection, the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) on Tuesday has directed restricted emergency use authorization (EUA) to Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin for the administration of Covid-19 vaccines to children aging between 6-12 years.

 The decision was taken after Bharat Biotech was asked by DCGI for additional data on its Covid-19 vaccine for administering it to children aged between 2-and 12 years.

Bharat Biotech’s Covaxinis a vaccine that is developed with the aid of whole-virion inactivated Vero cell-derived platform technology. The vaccine carries dead viruses which are incapable of infecting people but play a pivotal role to provide a defensive reaction against the infection. 

Johns Hopkins scientist Amita Gupta, while commenting on the issue of vaccine inequity, said,

“Global vaccine inequity remains an issue both within India and globally. For example, in the continent of Africa, less than 20 percent of the population is currently vaccinated and there are countries in Africa still with less than 2 percent vaccinated.”