Serum Institute To Launch Novavax Vaccine Shot For Children In Six Months

vaccine for children in india: The Serum Institute of India (SII) will launch the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine for children in the country in six months. Adar Poonawalla, its CEO, made the announcement on 14 December. He also added by saying that global vaccine supplies were outstripping the absorption capacity of many countries.

In a virtual conference organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry, Adar Poonawalla said that, the Novavax shot, which is the world's largest producer of vaccines calls Covovax, has shown good results in trials in children aged three and older.

He said that their vaccine will be launched in six months adding that it is under trial and has shown excellent data all the way down to the age group of 3.

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The Serum Institute of India makes the AstraZeneca and Sputnik shots. This is besides the Novavax vaccine that it has already exported to countries such as Indonesia.

The Serum Institute of India's monthly output of the AstraZeneca vaccine has nearly quadrupled since April. It now stands at 250 million doses. It has also announced plans to temporarily halve that production since the demand is no longer strong.

According to Mr Poonawalla, current global vaccine supply was far bigger than what many countries could consume despite them inoculating only a fraction of their population. The main reason behind this was infrastructure shortages, as per reports.

"Globally, including in India, the supply has outmatched the demand," he said. "Certain countries have only vaccinated to the tune of 10% or 15% of the population, they really need to go to 60-70%.

Suggested Reading : The US Approves Pfizer Vaccine For Children Aged 12 to 15 Years 

What is Serum Institute of India?

Serum Institute of India (SII), situated in Pune, is an Indian biotechnology and biopharmaceuticals company and also the world's largest manufacturer of vaccines.