DCGI Approves Serum Institute's Covovax Covid Vaccine For 7-11 Age Group: Report

Covovax Vaccine: The DCGI had approved Covovax for restricted use in adults on December 28 last year and in the 12-17 age group on March 9.

Covovax Covid-19 vaccine has an efficacy of 90% ( Image Source :ANI )

The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) on Tuesday approved Serum Institute of India's Covovax Covid-19 vaccine for restricted emergency use children aged 7-11 years, ANI reported. The DCGI had approved Covovax for restricted use in adults on December 28 last year and in the 12-17 age group on March 9.

The drug regulator also approved India's first indigenously developed mRNA vaccine against Covid-19 manufactured by Gennova Biopharmaceuticals for restricted emergency use for those aged 18 years and above. Gennova's mRNA vaccine can be stored at 2-8 degrees.

Covovax, a protein-based Covid-19 vaccine, is produced by the Serum Institute of India under licence from Novavax and is part of the Covax facility. Covovax is the second Covid-19 vaccine manufactured by SII, which makes Covishield as well.

The World Health Organisation had approved emergency use listing of Covovax in December last year.

Covovax has a two-dose regimen and can be stored at 2 to 8 degrees Celsius. Covovax has an efficacy of 90%, according to SII. Currently, Covovax is priced at Rs 225.

The vaccine uses a novel platform and is produced by creating an engineered baculovirus containing a gene for a modified SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. The spike protein on the surface of SARS-CoV-2 allows the virus to penetrate the human cell. 

After a person is injected with Covovax, their body is expected to recognise these copies of the spike proteins as a foreign substance and build immunity against them.

India's drug regulator has already approved Bharat Biotech's Covaxin for children between the age of 6-12 years, Biological E's Covid-19 vaccine Corbevax for children of 5-12 years group, and ZycovD (Zydus Cadila vaccine) for children above the age of 12 years.

The government began inoculating children aged 12-14 years from March 16. Vaccination for adolescents in the age group of 15-18 years started on January 3.