Serum Institute of India's Covid vaccine, Covovax is now approved for administration to children, announced CEO Adar Poonwalla on Tuesday. Children can get the vaccine at private centres with a provision for it being made on the CoWIN portal, official sources said on Monday.
"Covovax (@Novavax), is now available for children in India. This is the only vaccine manufactured in India that is also sold in Europe and has an efficacy of > 90%. This is in line with Shri @narendramodi Ji's vision of providing yet another vaccine to protect our children." Adar Poonawalla tweeted.
Currently, children aged 12 to 14 years are vaccinated with Biological E's intramuscular vaccine Corbevax, while those in the 15-18 age group are being administered Bharat Biotech's Covaxin at government vaccination centres.
Serum Institute of India (SII) Director for Government and Regulatory Affairs Prakash Kumar Singh had written to the Union Health Ministry recently, requesting for Covovax's inclusion in the immunisation drive for children aged 12 to 17 years.
In his letter, Singh had stated that the Pune-based firm wanted to provide Covovax to private hospitals at a per-dose rate of Rs 900 plus Goods and Services Tax (GST).
"Those aged 12-17 age group can now opt for Covovax shot at private hospitals. The provision for the same has been made at the CoWIN portal on Monday evening," an official source told PTI.
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