Vaccination for children can wait as trial still underway: Expert
India's top virologist Dr. Gagandeep Kang has said that there should not be any hurry to vaccinate children against COVID-19 as vaccine trials are ongoing and immunogenicity data is still awaited. Stating that children's vaccination can wait, Dr. Kang argued that we should now focus on vaccines that will offer children protection against newer variants of the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. Here are more details.
Vaccine trials don't involve kids with co-morbidities: Kang
In an interview with India Today, Dr. Kang highlighted that all COVID-19 vaccination trials conducted among children so far didn't involve kids with co-morbidities. Thus, it is not known how these vaccines will react on those children, she said. She said kids with co-morbidities should be given mRNA vaccines such as Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna shots. COVAXIN, too, would be safe for children, she said.
COVAXIN recommended by expert panel for kids aged 2-18 years
Meanwhile, the Subject Expert Committee (SEC) under India's drug regulator has recommended COVAXIN for emergency use authorization (EUA) for children aged 2-18 years. COVAXIN's manufacturer Bharat Biotech had submitted the Phase II and Phase III trial data to the drug regulator earlier this month. If approved, it would become the first Indian vaccine to be administered to children as young as two years.
'Need to develop vaccine that protects kids against all variants'
Dr. Kang cautioned against any hasty inoculation drive among children. Stating that children have already been exposed to the Delta variant, she emphasized that the need is to "develop a vaccine for kids that can offer protection against new variants instead of vaccinating them now."
COVID-19 becoming endemic in India: Dr. Kang
Talking about the present COVID-19 situation in India, Dr. Kang said that the disease is becoming endemic in the country. She said if a third wave of infections hits, it is likely to include small local outbreaks where the population is still not exposed to the virus. However, the situation would change if the virus mutates and a new variant emerges, she added.
How is the COVID-19 situation in India?
Indian reported 13,058 fresh COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, which is the lowest single-day tally in the last 231 days. With 164 fresh fatalities, India's total death toll has now reached 4,52,454. The recovery rate at present stood at 98.14%, which is the highest since March 2020. The weekly positivity rate was recorded at 1.36%, and the daily positivity rate at 1.11%.
