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Data on effectiveness of Covaxin on 2-year-olds will be available in 2-3 months: AIIMS Director

Antibodies against the Covid-19 virus were found in children who were recruited for Covaxin trials
Last Updated 24 June 2021, 07:23 IST

Considering the need for developing a Covid-19 vaccine for children, Dr Randeep Guleria, Director of the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Delhi, has recently said that experts will know the reports of trials of Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin on children as young as two years, in two to three months.

"Over the next 2-3 months, we should be able to say whether these vaccines work in children even as young as two years old. And then they should get regulatory approval. Pfizer already has the regulatory approval but for a little older age group," Dr Guleria told NDTV.

Trials of India’s first indigenously developed COVID-19 vaccine in children started in the first week of June in AIIMS Delhi and Patna. Dr Guleria mentioned that antibodies against the Covid-19 virus were found in these children.

"Almost 50-60 per cent of those who came for trials couldn't be recruited because they had antibodies... What this suggests is that they have a good amount of immunity,” he explained, adding, “This worry that 'the next wave may affect them' may not be correct.”

After states have witnessed a dip in Covid-19 cases, questions about the reopening of schools have emerged. While the central government said on Tuesday that schools can reopen only after a significant number of people are vaccinated, Dr Guleria suggests that the government should be “aggressively working” towards it.

“I personally feel that we should aggressively work on opening schools because it has really affected the young generation in terms of knowledge and especially the marginalised ones who can't go for online classes,” Dr Guleria told ANI.

“We should try and work on strategies that schools can be open," he added.

While the Centre has no plans to start schools physically, states like Maharashtra and Telangana have made plans to partially start reopening schools. Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has directed the state Education Department on Tuesday to look at the possibilities of reopening educational institutions in the villages with no Covid-19 cases for Classes 10 and 12. Similarly, the Telangana government has also decided to reopen schools from July 1.

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(Published 24 June 2021, 05:57 IST)

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