Zydus' Covid-19 vaccine for kids to be out by July-end: Top govt advisor

Dr N K Arora, Chairman of Covid working group, cites ICMR study to assert that third wave is likely to hit India late

The dreaded third wave of coronavirus is likely to hit India late, according to an ICMR study, said a top expert advising the Central government.

"ICMR has come up with a study which says the third wave is likely to come late. We have a window period of six-eight months to immunise everybody in the country," said Dr N K Arora, Chairman of Covid working group, according to an ANI report.

"In the coming days, our target is to administer 10 million vaccine doses every day," he said.

Speaking on vaccination for teens, Arora said that the trials of Zydus vaccine are almost complete and that the administration of the jab to children of 12-18 age group is likely to start by July-end or early August.

Several medical experts have warned about the third wave, but there are contrasting opinions on its timing and severity.

On Saturday, Samiran Panda, head of epidemiology at the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), said the third wave of Covid won’t be as severe as the second wave.

“More vaccination and Covid appropriate behaviour could play an important role in mitigating these waves. A study on the effect of vaccines on the Delta plus variant of Covid is underway,” Panda said.

India recorded 50,040 fresh Covid-19 cases on Sunday, making it the 20th straight day of less than 100,000 infections. The country also reported 1,258 deaths during the past 24 hours.