AIIMS Delhi to start recruiting children aged 6-12 years for Covaxin trials from tomorrow
AIIMS Patna, Mysore Medical College and Research Institute in Karnataka have also been selected to conduct clinical trials on children.
The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi will start recruitment for clinical trials tomorrow onwards for the children who are in the age group of 6-12 years, news agency ANI reported. It further said that clinical trials of children of the 2-6 age group will start after that.
The trials are taking place at 525 centres.
AIIMS Patna, Mysore Medical College and Research Institute in Karnataka have also been selected to conduct clinical trials on children.
"We have started recruitment for children aged 6-12 years. Recruitment for clinical trials on children aged 12-18 years is over. They will be kept under observation." said Prabhat Kumar Singh, Director, AIIMS, Patna.
Earlier, the screening of children for the trial of single-dose Covaxin, India’s first indigenously developed Covid-19 vaccine, among those aged between 2 and 18 started at the AIIMS in New Delhi on 7 June and is over.
The trial on children has already started at AIIMS Patna to see if the Bharat Biotech jab is suitable for children. Participants would be given the vaccine after their screening report comes.
India’s drug regulator had granted permission for conducting the Phase 2/3 clinical trial of Covaxin in the age group 2 to 18 years on May 12. Covaxin is being used on adults in India’s ongoing Covid-19 vaccination drive. The government last week cautioned that even though Covid-19 has not taken a serious shape among children till now, its impact can increase among them if there is a change in virus behaviour or epidemiology dynamics, and said preparations are being strengthened to deal with any such situation.
India is currently using three vaccines approved for adults – Covaxin, Serum Institute of India’s Covishield and Russia’s Sputnik V, however, there are none for children.
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