The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) on Friday approved Zydus Cadila’s DNA vaccine for emergency use in adults and children aged 12 years and above.
It is considered a timely move amid warnings of an upcoming third wave in the country.
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Saturday 22 Feb. 2025
Recently, a committee of experts under the National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM) warned of the third COVID-19 wave that could peak around October and sought better preparedness for children.
Dr Renu Swarup, Secretary, Department of Biotechnology, Government of India, while speaking exclusively to ANI on vaccines for children in India and use of Zydus Cadila’s ZyCoV-D for above 12 years adolescents, said, “So far the vaccines which were in the market were those which were for above 18 years. This is the DNA vaccine that has just received emergency use authorization is for 12 to 18 years and above. For the younger children, maybe 5 to 12 years, and even below there are different stages of the research which is still going on, and mostly all the vaccine manufacturers on different platforms are doing their trials.”
Dr Swarup added, “We know that Bharat biotech has already got permission for the trial of a vaccine which is again for younger children five years and above. Similarly, the biological E is still in their phase three trials. Currently, it’s now doing its phase 2, phase 3 for which it got approval for the trials on children.”
