Government allows Serum Institute to enrol 7-11 year olds in COVID-19 vaccine trial

In India, children of 12 and above with underlying medical conditions are likely to be vaccinated first, while healthy ones are unlikely to get jabs this year, as discussions are underway in the government regarding reopening of schools, sources ...

By Reuters | Updated: Sep 28, 2021, 03.05 PM IST

India's drug regulator on Tuesday allowed vaccine maker Serum Institute to enrol kids aged 7-11 years for its COVID-19 vaccine trial as the country prepares to protect children from the coronavirus.

It has already administered more than 870 million doses to adults among its population of nearly 1.4 billion.

"After detailed deliberation, the committee recommended for allowing enrolment of subjects of 7 to 11 years of age group as per the protocol," a subject expert panel of the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization said.

Serum Institute is already conducting a trial of its COVID-19 vaccine, a domestically produced version of U.S. drugmaker Novavax's shot, in the 12-17 age group and has presented safety data for an initial 100 participants.

So far, only drugmaker Zydus Cadila's DNA COVID-19 vaccine has received emergency use approval in India to be used in adults and children aged 12 years and above.

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