In big news in India’s vaccination drive, the Subject Expert Committee (SEC) recommended to the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) to grant emergency use authorisation for Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin for children as young as two years.

On 12 October, the expert panel in a statement said that “after detailed deliberation, the committee recommended for grant of market authorisation of the vaccine for the age group of 2 to 17 years for restricted use in an emergency.” 


This announcement makes Covaxin the second vaccine after Zydus Cadila’s ZyCoV-D DNA based vaccine, to be approved for vaccinating those under the age of 18, and the first vaccine in the world to be approved for children below the age of 12.


Though DCGI has not given the formal nod yet, the lack of publicly available data regarding the clinical trials and the fact that Covaxin has still not been approved by the World Health Organisation has raised some concerns with health experts on how effective the vaccine will be on children.

What also does not help Bharat Biotech’s case is its previous lack of transparency about the conduct of Covaxin clinical trials in adults and how it reported adverse side effects.

And this brings up the pertinent questions on every parents mind-how safe is Covaxin for children? How many doses should be administered? And do children already affected with COVID-19 need the vaccine?

Host and Producer: Himmat ShaligramGuest: Dr Gagandeep Kang, a renowned virologist with CMC Vellore and a member of the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI)
Editor: Shelly Walia
Music: Big Bang Fuzz
Listen to The Big Story podcast on:
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To help us answer these questions, for today’s episode we spoke to Dr Gagandeep Kang, a renowned virologist with CMC Vellore and a member of the COVID-19 World Group the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation.

<div>In big news in India’s vaccination drive, the Subject Expert Committee (SEC) recommended to the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) to grant emergency use authorisation for Bharat Biotech’s <a href="https://www.thequint.com/coronavirus/sec-gives-approval-for-emergency-use-of-covaxin-for-children-aged-2-to-18-years#read-more">Covaxin for children</a> as young as two years.<br>
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<div>On 12 October, the expert panel in a statement said that “after detailed deliberation, the committee recommended for grant of market authorisation of the vaccine for the age group of 2 to 17 years for restricted use in an emergency.” <br>
<br>
This announcement makes Covaxin the second vaccine after Zydus Cadila’s ZyCoV-D DNA based vaccine, to be approved for vaccinating those under the age of 18, and the first vaccine in the world to be approved for children below the age of 12.<br>
<br>
Though DCGI has not given the formal nod yet, the lack of publicly available data regarding the clinical trials and the fact that<a href="https://www.thequint.com/news/india/covaxin-who-approval-meeting-why-the-delay#read-more"> Covaxin has still not been approved by the World Health Organisation</a> has raised some concerns with health experts on how effective the vaccine will be on children.<br>
<br>

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<div>What also does not help Bharat Biotech’s case is <a href="https://www.thequint.com/coronavirus/explained-is-the-data-from-covaxin-trials-bhopal-site-tainted-bharat-biotech-icmr">its previous lack of transparency about the conduct of Covaxin clinical trials</a> in adults and how it reported adverse side effects.<br>
<br>

</div>
<div>And this brings up the pertinent questions on every parents mind-how safe is Covaxin for children? How many doses should be administered? And do children already affected with COVID-19 need the vaccine?<br>
<br>

</div>
<div>
<strong>Host and Producer: </strong>Himmat Shaligram</div>
<div>
<strong>Guest: </strong>Dr Gagandeep Kang, a renowned virologist with CMC Vellore and a member of the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI)</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>
<strong>Editor:</strong> Shelly Walia</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>
<strong>Music:</strong> Big Bang Fuzz</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div><strong>Listen to The Big Story podcast on:</strong></div>
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<div>Apple: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/redirect?q=https%3A%2F%2Fapple.co%2F2AYdLIl&amp;redir_token=G9sQMbbppKv-LEFD29gDyTmPMzt8MTU3MTM4MDU5NkAxNTcxMjk0MTk2&amp;v=xkpX1V6aUFo&amp;event=video_description">https://apple.co/2AYdLIl</a>
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<div>Saavn: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/redirect?q=http%3A%2F%2Fbit.ly%2F2oix78C&amp;redir_token=G9sQMbbppKv-LEFD29gDyTmPMzt8MTU3MTM4MDU5NkAxNTcxMjk0MTk2&amp;v=xkpX1V6aUFo&amp;event=video_description">http://bit.ly/2oix78C</a>
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<div>Google Podcasts: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/redirect?q=http%3A%2F%2Fbit.ly%2F2ntMV7S&amp;redir_token=G9sQMbbppKv-LEFD29gDyTmPMzt8MTU3MTM4MDU5NkAxNTcxMjk0MTk2&amp;v=xkpX1V6aUFo&amp;event=video_description">http://bit.ly/2ntMV7S</a>
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<div>Spotify: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/redirect?q=https%3A%2F%2Fspoti.fi%2F2IyLAUQ&amp;redir_token=G9sQMbbppKv-LEFD29gDyTmPMzt8MTU3MTM4MDU5NkAxNTcxMjk0MTk2&amp;v=xkpX1V6aUFo&amp;event=video_description">https://spoti.fi/2IyLAUQ</a>
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<div>Deezer: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/redirect?q=http%3A%2F%2Fbit.ly%2F2Vrf5Ng&amp;redir_token=G9sQMbbppKv-LEFD29gDyTmPMzt8MTU3MTM4MDU5NkAxNTcxMjk0MTk2&amp;v=xkpX1V6aUFo&amp;event=video_description">http://bit.ly/2Vrf5Ng</a>
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<div>Castbox: <a href="http://bit.ly/2VqZ9ur">http://bit.ly/2VqZ9ur</a>
</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>
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</div>
<div>To help us answer these questions, for today’s episode we spoke to Dr Gagandeep Kang, a renowned virologist with CMC Vellore and a member of the COVID-19 World Group the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation.<br>
<br>

</div>

The Big Story is back with a second season!

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With two new hosts, Anjali and Prateek, the second season of The Big Story will feature longer and well-rounded discussions with experts across science, culture, technology, politics, and more. Tune in on your preferred podcast platform!   



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<p>The Big Story is back with a second season!</p>
<p>The news culture of our times is noisy, crowded, and honestly so confusing. This is why we are coming every fortnight on your podcast platforms to help you make sense of the new and now. <br aria-hidden="true"><br aria-hidden="true">With two new hosts, Anjali and Prateek, the second season of The Big Story will feature longer and well-rounded discussions with experts across science, culture, technology, politics, and more. Tune in on your preferred podcast platform!   </p>
<p> </p>
<p><em>Millions of listeners seek out <a href="https://bingepods.com/">Bingepods</a> (Ideabrew Studios Network content) every day. Get in touch with us to advertise, join the network or click listen to  enjoy content by some of India's top audio creators.</em><br><em><a href="mailto:studio@ideabrews.com">studio@ideabrews.com</a></em></p>
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