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.”
