Novavax's Covid-19 Vaccine Covovax Gets Emergency Use Authorisation For 12-17 Age Group In India

Novavax's Covid-19 vaccine named Covovax received emergency use authorization from the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) on Tuesday for adolescents aged 12 to 17 years in India.

According to Novavax, the vaccine, also known as NVX-CoV2373, is developed and marketed in India by the Serum Institute of India (SII) under the brand name Covovax and is the country's first protein-based vaccination approved for use in this age group.

Is Covovax Effective For The 12-17 Age Group?

In a late-stage trial testing of the vaccine that involves 2,247 youths aged 12 to 17, Covovax has proven to be 80 per cent effective against COVID-19.

"We're proud of this first approval in adolescents given the efficacy and safety that our data show in this population and that our COVID-19 vaccine will provide an alternative protein-based vaccine option for individuals 12 years of age and older in India," said Stanley C Erck, President and Chief Executive Officer, Novavax.

"The approval of Covovax for adolescents 12 and older in India marks another significant milestone in strengthening our immunization efforts across India and LMICs," said Adar Poonawalla, Chief Executive Officer, Serum Institute of India.

"We are proud to deliver a protein-based COVID-19 vaccine with a favourable safety profile to the adolescents of our nation," he added.

The Fourth Approved COVID-19 Vaccine

After Biological E's Corbevax, Zydus Cadila's ZyCoV-D, and Bharat Biotech's Covaxin, Covovax is the fourth COVID-19 vaccine to be approved in India for adolescents aged 12 and up.

The DCGI had already approved Covovax emergency use permission for adults aged 18 and up in December. The World Health Organization has also given Covovax an Emergency Use Listing (EUL).