Recruitment Of Volunteers For Trial Of Covovax Vaccine On Children Begins

Zydus Cadila's needle-free COVID-19 vaccine ZyCoV-D has received emergency use authorisation from the drug regulator, making it the first vaccine to be administered in the age group of 12-18 years in the country.

Recruitment of volunteers for the phase 2/3 clinical trial of COVID-19 vaccine Covovax among children aged 2 to 17 years began on Sunday at the Hamdard Institute of Medical Sciences and Research In Delhi. The trial would be held across 10 sites and would cover 920 children -- 460 each in the age groups of 12-17 and 2-11 -- according to official sources close to PTI. Indigenously developed Zydus Cadila's needle-free COVID-19 vaccine ZyCoV-D has received emergency use authorisation from the drug regulator, making it the first vaccine to be administered in the age group of 12-18 years in the country. India's drug regulator in July had granted permission to Serum Institute of India (SII) for conducting phase 2/3 trial of Covovax on children aged 2 to 17 years with certain conditions on the basis of the recommendations of the Subject Expert Committee (SEC) on COVID-19.