EXCLUSIVE | Covid Vaccine Soon for Children Aged 5-12? Expert Panel to Discuss Corbevax Use Today as Daily Cases Inch Up

As Covid-19 cases inch upwards this month and reports come in of cluster outbreaks in schools in Delhi-NCR, the Subject Expert Committee of the drug regulator DCGI will meet on Thursday to discuss the use of Biological E’s Corbevax for children aged five to 12, sources told News18.

Government sources said the SEC meeting is scheduled at noon and will likely discuss recommendations on restricted emergency use of Corbevax among children aged 5-12. The vaccine is currently being administered to children in the age group of 12-14 years.

Covid-19 vaccinations for minors in India had kicked off on January 3 with those in 15-18 age group being inoculated first. The drive was expanded on March 16 to include children aged above 12. India is currently administering two Covid vaccines to children above 12.

Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin is currently being given to children in the age group of 15-18 years at private and government vaccination centres, while Biological E’s Corbevax is being administered only in government centres to children aged 12-14 years.

Corbevax vaccine, which is India’s indigenously developed Receptor Binding Domain (RBD) protein sub-unit vaccine against Covid, uses similar technology as Hepatitis-B vaccines. The vaccine is administered through an intramuscular route with a two-dose schedule 28 days apart.

Several states, including Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, made the wearing of masks compulsory again in cities and towns after Covid-19 infections rose in the national capital region in recent days.

Delhi accounted for more than 30% of the 2,067 new infections that India reported on Wednesday, taking the country’s running total to more than 43 million. Deaths nationwide rose by 40, mostly from Kerala, lifting the total to 522,006. On Thursday, India reported 2,380 new coronavirus infections, taking the active cases to 13,433. The death toll climbed to 5,22,062 with 56 fresh fatalities.

The tally of daily infections has hovered around a month-high in recent days after most precautions, including penalties for not wearing masks, were dropped a few weeks ago. Around this time last year, India was reporting a record number of cases and deaths globally.

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