US company Ocugen has announced that it had asked authorities for emergency use authorisation for the Covid-19 vaccine Covaxin, which was developed in India, for ages 2 to 18.
Ocugen's data, gathered from clinical trials conducted outside of the US with only a small group of children, may not be enough for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to grant the request.
Covaxin, developed in India by Ocugen's partner, Bharat Biotech, gained emergency approval from the World Health Organization on Wednesday (3) and has already been cleared for use in 17 countries.
Tens of millions of doses have been administered to adults outside of the United States, notably in India.
The immunization uses inactivated virus technology, common in other childhood vaccines including polio shots.
The approval request is based on results from a study of 526 kids between ages 2 and 18 who received two doses of Covaxin 28 days apart.
The findings were compared with those from a group of 25,800 adults in India, which suggested "similar protection in children, ages 2-18, to that demonstrated in adults older than 18 years," the company said.
Ocugen co-founder Shankar Musunuri in a press release called the move "a significant step toward our hope to make our vaccine candidate available here."
In the clinical trial with 526 children, no serious adverse events or hospitalizations were observed, but the study's sample size may not have been large enough to detect rare side effects.
The FDA asked Pfizer and Moderna, whose Covid-19 vaccines have already been authorized in the United States, to conduct trials with thousands of children to have a better insight into any side effects.
Pfizer's shot is the only one approved in the United States for children under the age of 18, and health authorities cleared the way this week for 5 to 11-year-olds to receive the vaccine.
(AFP)
Moglai Bap and Mo Chara of Kneecap perform at Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm in Pilton, Somerset, Britain, June 28, 2025. REUTERS/Jaimi Joy
Police may probe anti-Israel comments at Glastonbury
BRITISH police said they were considering whether to launch an investigation after performers at Glastonbury Festival made anti-Israel comments during their shows.
"We are aware of the comments made by acts on the West Holts Stage at Glastonbury Festival this afternoon," Avon and Somerset Police, in western England, said on X late on Saturday (28).
Irish hip-hop group Kneecap and punk duo Bob Vylan made anti-Israeli chants in separate shows on the West Holts stage on Saturday. One of the members of Bob Vylan chanted "Death, death, to the IDF" in a reference to the Israel Defense Forces.
"Video evidence will be assessed by officers to determine whether any offences may have been committed that would require a criminal investigation," the police statement said.
The Israeli Embassy in Britain said it was "deeply disturbed by the inflammatory and hateful rhetoric expressed on stage at the Glastonbury Festival".
Prime minister Keir Starmer said earlier this month it was "not appropriate" for Kneecap to appear at Glastonbury.
The band's frontman Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh was charged with a terrorism offence last month for allegedly displaying a flag in support of Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah at a concert in November. He has denied the charge.
A British government minister said it was appalling that the anti-Israel chants had been made at Glastonbury, and that the festival's organisers and the BBC broadcaster - which is showing the event - had questions to answer.
Health secretary Wes Streeting said he was also appalled by violence committed by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank.
"I'd also say to the Israeli Embassy, get your own house in order in terms of the conduct of your own citizens and the settlers in the West Bank," Streeting told Sky News.
"I wish they'd take the violence of their own citizens towards Palestinians more seriously," he said.
(Reuters)