HOPE FOR THE YOUNG

On July 21, India approved its sixth vaccine for emergency use against Covid-19. The three-dose DNA vaccine ZyCoV-D, from Zydus Cadila, developed with the Department of Biotechnology, will be the first approved for the 12-18 age group in the country and the first DNA vaccine against Covid in the world. It is the country’s second homegrown jab. “This is the first step towards ensuring safe reopening of schools,” says Dr Randeep Guleria, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) director and member of the government expert panel on Covid. While children themselves are usually diagnosed with an asymptomatic