The Serum Institute of India (SII) hopes to introduce US firm Novavax's Indian version of the COVID-19 vaccine - 'Covavax' by September this year and start trials on children from July, sources said on 17 June.

The SII is hoping to introduce Covavax in the country by September which is a version of US firm Novavax's COVID-19 vaccine, sources added. Earlier this week, Novavax's vaccine exhibited a 90.4 per cent overall efficacy in Phase-3 clinical trials. That puts it in the same bracket as two of the frontline vaccines being used in the US and European countries, the ones produced by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, which had efficacy rates of 91.3 per cent and 90 per cent in Phase 3 trials, respectively.

"Serum Institute plans to start clinical trials of the Novavax shot for Children in July", sources confirmed. Earlier on 15 June, the Centre said that recently declared Novavax COVID vaccine efficacy data in a large trial are promising and that clinical trials are being conducted and are in an advanced stage of completion in India. "What we're learning from data available in the public domain that this vaccine is very safe and highly effective. It'll be produced in India," said Dr VK Paul, Member-Health, Niti Aayog said in a routine briefing by the Union Health Ministry on the COVID-19 situation in India.

He also added that gap in the production of Novavax's vaccine was likely for a while. "I am also hoping they (US company Novavax) would also start trials on children too", Paul had said. Novavax's vaccine candidate has partnered with Pune-based vaccine manufacturer Serum Institute of India to produce doses in India. Meanwhile, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi from 15 June began the screening of children in the age group of 6 to 12 years for the clinical trials of Covaxin, the indigenously developed COVID-19 vaccine. AIIMS Delhi has already completed the clinical trial for a single dose of Covaxin for children aged 12-18 age group. The United States of America had in May approved Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine for use in children as young as 12. Pfizer's shot is the first to be cleared in the United States for children 12 to 15.