Corbevax Vaccine Gets Emergency Use Approval For Children

The vaccine has been approved for use in children aged 12-18 years. Read more about the vaccine here.

Experts from India's central drug authority recommended on Monday that Corbevax COVID-19 vaccine be granted EUA for administration in children.

(Photo: The Quint)

After Bharat Biotech's Covaxin, Biological E Limited's Corbevax has now received emergency use authorization (EUA) for treating children, from the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI).

The Corbevax vaccine received approval from the DCGI late Monday, 21 February, for use in children and adolescents aged 12 to 18 years.

India had been administering Bharat Biotech's Covaxin for use in adolescents between 15 and 18 years, 3 since January 2022.

The DCGI cleared Corbevax for restricted use on adults in December 2021, alongside Serum Institute of India's Covovax and Merck's antiviral COVID pill, Molnupiravir.

Corbevax is a protein subunit vaccine.

Protein subunit vaccine technology is a reliable approach that introduces only the part of the virus that is needed to trigger an immune response.

Unlike Pfizer or Moderna's mRNA vaccines which teach the body how to produce the necessary spike protein to fight COVID-19, Corbevax delivers the spike protein directly to the body.

Corbevax also holds the honour of being India's first indigenously developed RBD protein subunit vaccine in the fight against COVID-19.

The pharmaceutical company behind Corbevax, Biological E, is based out of Hyderabad.

Similar to Pfizer or Moderna's vaccine, Corbevax will also need to be administered in two doses.