Clinical trials of Covovax for children aged between two and 18 begin in Mumbai

Trials are being conducted at Nair Hospital. Pic/Ashish Raje

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation-run BYL Nair Hospital has kickstarted clinical trials of the Covovax vaccine for children aged between two and 18. Manufactured by the Serum Institute of India, this is the second children's vaccine whose trials are being held at Nair Hospital.

Dr Ramesh Bharmal, dean of Nair Hospital, said, "This is the first Covovax trial being conducted in Mumbai. So far, six children have been registered, out of which three have already been administered the vaccine."

Dr Bharmal said that around 920 children can be registered for the trial. "Like adults, Covovax will also have two doses. However, the second dose will be given after 21 days," he added. Phase 3 trial of Covovax has shown 100 per cent protection against moderate to severe impact of the virus and an overall efficacy of 90.4 per cent.

"The vaccinated children in the trial will be closely monitored for six months and their antibodies will be checked on the 18th, 21st and 36th day after the first dose. The vaccine has so far been given to around 30,000 children in the world," he said.

It may be recalled that the clinical trials of ZyCov-D for children aged 12 to 18 years did not receive many participants.

With the earlier trial not getting a desired response from parents, the hospital is trying to spread more awareness about Covovax. They have also come up with a number on which the parents can reach out, and have their concerns addressed.

"In the ZyCOV-D trial, we were supposed to enroll 50 children, but only 12 were registered. We have been trying to spread awareness through various media outlets on the latest trial. Hopefully, this one will be successful," said Dr Bharmal. The vaccine in the trial will be given to healthy or medically-stable children.

Apart from Nair Hospital in Mumbai, Bharati Hospital and KEM Hospital's Vadu branch in Pune are among the 10 sites, where children are participating in ongoing advanced trials.