Russian Health Ministry registered the Sputnik M COVID vaccine that will be used for prevention of the infection in children aged between 12 and 17, the Ministry told journalists Wednesday.
"Following all necessary clinical trials, during which the GamCovidVac M displayed high efficiency and safety, and based on the positive conclusion of experts, Russian Health Ministry made a decision to register the GamCovidVac M vaccine for prevention of the novel coronavirus infection in teenagers aged between 12 and 17," the Ministry said.
The vaccine includes two components, administered with a 21-day interval. The Ministry noted that vaccination of teenagers aged between 12 and 15 will be performed only under agreement of their parents or caretakers, while teenagers aged 15 and above can get a vaccine if they provide their own informed voluntary consent.
According to the Ministry, there are over 30,000 children with COVID receiving medical aid. Since the beginning of the pandemic, children contributed to over 5% of all COVID patients.
Earlier, Deputy Director General of the Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology Denis Logunov said the Sputnik M coronavirus vaccine for teenagers has been approved in Russia.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova said earlier on Wednesday that a coronavirus vaccine for children would not be released for public distribution until late December 2021.
Clinical trials of the Sputnik V vaccine among children and teenagers aged twelve to 17 years kicked off in Moscow on June 5. Gamaleya Center Director Alexander Gintsburg explained that the concentration of Sputnik V had been reduced fivefold for teenagers and tenfold for younger children.
