Russia's Gamaleya Center applies for registering Covid-19 vaccine for children aged 6 to 11

MOSCOW. Jan 31 (Interfax) - The Russian Health Ministry's Gamaleya Center has applied for registering a Covid-19 vaccine for children aged from six to 11 in Russia.

The respective information, published in the state register of drugs, says that the two-component Gam-COVID-Vac-D vaccine would be administered intramuscularly.

Gamaleya Center Director Alexander Gintsburg confirmed to Interfax the submission of documents for registering the Sputnik vaccine for children aged from six to 11.

"Yes, we have submitted documents for registration," Gintsburg said in response to a related question.

He said that researchers considered two vaccine dosages, either a fifth of the adult dosage, as what Sputnik M for children aged from 12 to 17 has, or a tenth of the adult dosage.

They eventually decided to use a tenth of the adult dosage, or half of the Sputnik M dosage, Gintsburg said.

Last January, the Russian Health Ministry permitted the start of Phase I-III clinical trials of the Sputnik M vaccine on children aged from six to 11. It said that the trials would be conducted on 2,200 volunteers at three venues in Moscow, namely, the Morozov Children's Clinical Hospital, the Bashlyayeva Children's City Clinical Hospital and the Sechenov Medical University.

Gintsburg told Interfax in June 2022 that the first group of 16 volunteers aged nine and up were vaccinated in the course of clinical trials of the Sputnik M Covid-19 vaccine for children aged from six to 11. According to him, the children had no side effects.