Over 18 years across 15 centres. SII has aslo indicated an interest in conducting trials in children, sources said. It may be well be possible that India becomes the first country for vaccine lauch. "The results are very encouraging and we are looking forward to the vaccine. We are engaged with SII for supplies and the company is doing trials with ICMR. It is a very promising vaccine candidate and we are hopeful that they will be able to submit data in India for regulatory approvals very soon, an official said. Trials found it effective against the Alpha variant first found in Kent, though at a less efficacy of 86%. The shots were found to have milder after-effects. The sub-protein two-shot vaccine received a massive billion assitance from the US Government. The official said the government is looking at an August-Septembe timeline for the first lot of supplies of Covovax, if the regulatory processes advance smoothly. SII was considering applying for expedited authorisation under the government's revised norms if Novavax secure EUA in either UK or Europe. Novavax vaccine with its high efficacy level is seen as a major breakthrough for developing nations that are vying for more doses to fast faccinate their population. Experts feel India is strategically placed well to gain, while it can also be a viable market for the American company to lanch its product. "Like with Convox, US FDA has suggested Novavax to apply for full approval. This means that a country outside the US may be the first to approve the vaccine. It could be India as well, says ommen C Kurian senior fellow health. Novavax is easy to store and transport, a key factor that may make it a good fit for India which is not only trying to ramp up Covid-19 vaccination programme.
