COVID-19 vaccinations for children will be available’very soon,’ according to the Minister of Health

New Delhi, India: Amid fears of a third COVID-19 wave, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said on Thursday that COVID-19 vaccinations for children will be available “very soon” in India.

He stated that the findings of an ongoing study by Zydus Cadila and Bharat Biotech for the development of COVID-19 vaccinations for children would be revealed next month, and that the COVID-19 antidote will follow shortly after.

“The Indian government has already given permission to Zydus Cadila and Bharat Biotech to conduct research for developing a COVID-19 vaccine for children. We are expecting that results of their research will arrive next month. I am confident that vaccines for children would become a reality very soon,” Mandaviya told reporters in Rajkot.

Further, Mandaviya assured that the Centre is committed to vaccinate every citizen.

Meanwhile, ICMR-NIV Director Priya Abraham on August 18 informed that trials of Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin Phase II and III are currently underway for children in the age group of 2-18 years.

“Hopefully, the results are going to be available very soon. The results will be presented to the regulators. So, by September or just after it, we may have COVID-19 vaccines for children,” Abraham was quoted by PIB in a press release.

Also, Zydus Cadila’s COVID-19 vaccine trial is going on which can also be used for children and will be made available.

The Centre had informed the Supreme Court that the vaccine developed by Zydus Cadila will be launched for children who are 12 and above, subject to statutory permissions.

It is claimed Zydus Cadila’s coronavirus vaccine ZyCoV-D can be given to both adults and children.