Adar Poonawalla: Vaccine for children aged 3 years and above to be launched in next 6 months

Pune-based vaccine maker Serum Institute of India (SII) is planning to launch a coronavirus vaccine for children in the next six months, the company's CEO Adar Poonawalla said on Tuesday. The jab, Poonawalla noted, is the US biotechnology company Novavax's Covid-19 vaccine, which his firm will produce and manufacture locally as Covovax.

"We have not seen any serious illness in children," PTI quoted Adar Poonawala as saying. There is nothing to worry about right now. However, we will bring a vaccine for them in six months. The vaccine is expected to be available for children up to the age of three, "said Poonawala, speaking at an industry conference in Delhi. "We are still testing the Covovax vaccine," he said. The vaccine has shown excellent data in all cases up to the age of three. The vaccine will be launched in the next six months. Meanwhile, children in many parts of the world are being vaccinated.

At the same time, Adar Poonawala also advised to vaccinate children. He said, "Yes, I think you should vaccinate your children. There is no harm in this. The vaccine has proven to be safe and effective. Just wait for the announcement of the government and then we can move on." Currently, the vaccine is being given to eligible people over the age of 18 under a nationwide vaccination program. 

On the back of enough data, it is safe to say that booster vaccine doses are a proven strategy to get antibodies up to a great extent: Serum Institute of India's CEO Adar Poonawalla on #Omicron, at CII Partnership Summit

— ANI (@ANI) December 14, 2021