Novovax Covid-19 Vaccine Gets Emergency Use Approval For Kids Aged 12-18 Years In India

Novavax’s vaccine, also known as NVX-CoV2373, is manufactured and marketed in India by the Serum Institute of India under the brand name Covovax

New Delhi: In a series of vaccines approved for adolescents in India, Novavax on Tuesday announced the first emergency use authorization of its Covid-19 vaccine for those in the age bracket of 12-18 years.

What’s Novavax vaccine efficiency?

Biotech company Novavax’s vaccine, also known as NVX-CoV2373, is manufactured and marketed in India by the Serum Institute of India (SII) under the brand name Covovax, according to the company statement.

It is the first protein-based vaccine authorized for use in this age group in India, the company added according to ANI report. The protein-based vaccine candidate engineered from the genetic sequence of the first strain of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19 disease.

The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) has issued permission for restricted use in an emergency situation for Covovax for active immunisation to prevent Covid-19 caused by SARS-CoV-2 in individuals 12 years of age and older.

 “We’re proud of this first approval in adolescents given the efficacy and safety that our data show in this population and that our Covid-19 vaccine will provide an alternative protein-based vaccine option for individuals 12 years of age and older in India,” said Stanley C Erck, president and chief executive officer, Novavax.

Stating it as another significant milestone, SII CEO Adar Poonawalla said the approval of Covovax for adolescents 12 and older in India will strengthen the immunisation efforts across India and LMICs.

 “We are proud to deliver a protein-based COVID-19 vaccine with a favourable safety profile to the adolescents of our nation," added Poonawalla.

At the time of its last stage trial testing in February, Novovax had said that its vaccine was 80 per cent effective against Covid-19. It produced an immune response during the testing, according to Reuters.

Covovax becomes the fourth vaccine authorised for adolescents bwteen ages of 12 years and older in India after Biological E's Corbevax, Zydus Cadila's ZyCoV-D and Bharat Biotech's Covaxin.

Initially DCGI had granted emergency use authorization for Covovax for adults of 18 years old and above in December. In addition, Covovax has also received Emergency Use Listing (EUL) from the World Health Organisation.