The clinical trials of Bharat Biotech Covid-19 vaccine Covaxin on children may start from June, said a senior official of the vaccine-maker. Recently in a virtual conversation with members of FICCI Ladies Organisation (FLO), Hyderabad, Raches Ella, Head-Business Development and International Advocacy of Bharath Biotech said no vaccine offers 100 percent protection from the virus.
He said, the efficacy of the vaccine can be improved up to 100 percent defence by the Coronavirus appropriate behaviour a by following other safety protocols. Moreover, the company Bharat Biotech has received permission to carry out paediatric trials of the vaccine and it may start its trials from June 1, he further noted.
A press release from FLO quoted Ella as saying on Sunday that, “It would be a trial on children aged 2-18 years for which Bharath Biotech may get the licence in the third quarter of this year.” He said, some-side effects of vaccination are common and they shouldn’t deter any one from taking the shot. “I am happy that our hard work is paying off well as the vaccine is working well and saving lives.”
“We have this good feeling when we go back home from work each day. We will be soon ramping up our manufacturing capacity to 700 million doses by the end of this year, he said replying to a query. According to him, the success probability of a vaccine is just 6 per cent from discovery to development and it would take seven to 10 years to come out with a jab,” he said.
However, currently the pregnant and lactating mothers, special population and kids are nit allowed to be administered with the vaccines. He said, once a separate clinical trial of the vaccines for these age groups are done and are proved to be effective then they may be allowed to give the vaccine shots. Ella said the current vaccines are doing well enough but the requirement of a booster dose would depend on future variants of the virus.