Chandigarh: PGIMER starts Covovax trials for children

One child administered the vaccine at the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) on Thursday, no side-effects reported, institute invites more children as volunteers, it is to to immunise around 100 children, with two doses of 0.5 ml each, on Day 1 and Day 22 respectively.

Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) started Covovax vaccine trials for children, aged between 2 and 17, on Thursday and administered a dose to a child. The child did not experience any side-effects, officials said.

After administering both the doses of Covovax, PGIMER will be screening the children and studying the results for six months. The institute will submit its findings to the SII and Government of India. (HT File/Representational image)

Covovax— a vaccine against Covid-19 for children, which is primarily developed by the US firm Novavax Inc, will be mass produced by Pune-based Serum Institute of India, mainly for the below-18 age group. Covovax is the third Covid-19 vaccine to be tested in children in India, after Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin and Zydus Cadila’s ZyCoV-D.

PGIMER is among the 10 institutes conducting the trials, aimed at checking the safety and immune response of the vaccine. The institute aims to immunise around 100 children, with two doses of 0.5 ml each, on Day 1 and Day 22 respectively.

“After receiving vaccine vials on Wednesday, we inoculated the first dose to a child. The child was kept under observation for 30 minutes. The child didn’t suffer any side effects post the jab. The vaccine is safe and we have given appointments to other children, who will be administered the vaccine in coming days,” said Dr Madhu Gupta, professor, Community Medicine and School of Public Health, and Principal Investigator of the project.

So far, around 100 children, aged between 2 and 17, have registered to volunteer in the trials. “The children will be screened for eligibility and the vaccine will only be inoculated to those with stable health conditions,” said Dr Madhu Gupta, adding that in the initial stages of the trials, the efficacy of Covovax is said to be over 90%.

After administering both the doses, children will be screened and the results will be studied for six months. The institute will submit its findings to the SII and Government of India.

PGIMER invites child volunteers

While inviting children to register as volunteers, PGIMER authorities said: “Parents of healthy children, who want their children to participate in the trials, can fill the consent form and send it to the institute through email, text message or telephone numbers. The consent form is available at https://forms.gle/rmFo2kJrjwivHaeA8 and can be sent at covovax2021@gmail.com or 7347665382 or 7347665383.”