Covaxin paediatric vaccine trials: All kids to be jabbed by August 4

Amid concerns over children being more susceptible to the possible third wave of Covid, Mysore Medical College will finish inoculating children with Covaxin as a part of its trial by August 4. It is the lone clinical trial site in Karnataka for Hyderabad-based pharmaceutical major Bharat Biotech's anti-Covid vaccine Covaxin.

Eight recruits aged 12-18 years have already received their second and final dose, while 14 pre-teens aged 6-12 years will be jabbed next Saturday (July 31). By next Wednesday (August 4) eight of the youngest participants aged two years to three years will be inoculated too.

"Both parents of most kids are doctors or paramedical staff and have not reported any major adverse events following immunisation (AEFI) barring most common observations for one or two days like pain at the site of injection and mild fever. The youngest child recruited in the trial is two years and one month old," Dr CP Nanjaraj, Dean, Mysore Medical College and Research Institute.

Dr Nanjaraj said the 208-day observation period of the children will end in the first week of January 2022. "Also, there have been no concerns among parents about Brazil suspending Covaxin clinical trials in their country," he said.

Dr Senthil K, paediatrician with Columbia Asia Hospital, Whitefield, said, "A lot of hype has been created about the third wave affecting children. Even in our community, after a few Covid cases were reported, all activities were stopped; clubhouses and play areas were closed. The only way out is vaccinating children. Without physical activity, their metabolic rate is decreasing and they're gaining weight. Among our patients, every child has gained at least four kg," he said.

Among children aged one year to two years, doctors have observed trouble with language and speech. "There is a significant delay in speech and language development, and they have started falling under mild autism spectrum disorder. This is because both parents are on their laptops and children are on their phones. Grandparents are not there to interact, and chances of playing with other children have been curtailed," Dr Senthil said.

Dr Rakshay Shetty, lead paediatric intensivist at Rainbow Children's Hospital, said, even if there were AEFIs reported in children when vaccinated on a large scale, it will be less than the number of children suffering complications arising out of Covid. "Covid positive children who died, did not succumb to Covid, but to multi-system inflammatory syndrome, which is a complication arising out of Covid. Hence, parents should be forthcoming to vaccinate their children provided the vaccine's safety profile is established," he said.