India allows Serum Institute to enrol 7-11 year olds in COVID-19 vaccine trial

India`s drug regulator on Tuesday allowed vaccine maker Serum Institute to enrol kids aged 7-11 years for its COVID-19 vaccine trial as the country prepares to protect children from the coronavirus.

It has already administered more than 870 million doses to adults among its population of nearly 1.4 billion.

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"After detailed deliberation, the committee recommended for allowing enrolment of subjects of 7 to 11 years of age group as per the protocol," a subject expert panel of the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization said.

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Serum Institute is already conducting a trial of its COVID-19 vaccine, a domestically produced version of US drugmaker Novavax`s shot, in the 12-17 age group and has presented safety data for an initial 100 participants.

So far, only drugmaker Zydus Cadila`s DNA COVID-19 vaccine has received emergency use approval in India to be used in adults and children aged 12 years and above.