Hyderabad Sept 21 PTI Bharat Biotech has completed the Phase 23 trials of COVID-19 vaccine Covaxin for use in children under 18 years of age and is expected to submit the data by next week to the DCGI Chairman and Managing Director of Bharat Biotech International Ltd Krishna Ella said on Tuesday here Speaking to reporters he said Covaxin production would touch 55 million doses in October as against 35 million in September He also said the Phase 2 trials of the firms intranasal vaccine against COVID-19 is expected to be over by next month Paediatric Covaxin just completed phase 23 trials The data analysis is going on We will be submitting the data to the regulator by next week The number of subjects volunteers is touching 1000 Ella said Intranasal immunization can create an immune response in the nose which is the point of entry for the virusthereby protecting against the disease infection and transmission also he noted According to Ella the intranasal vaccine trials are conducted on three cohorts in which one group is administered Covaxin as the first dose and intranasal as the second Similarly intranasal-intranasal for the second group and Intranasal- Covaxin for the third cohort 28 days apart He said the trials will be conducted on about 650 volunteers On the production levels of Covaxin Ella said 100 million doses per month can be possible if the other manufacturing partners are fully geared up with safety and other parameters are in place Other than its own facilities Bharat Biotech has tied up with Indian Immunologiclas and Hester Biosciences to manufacture Covaxin We are supplying 35 million this month Next month we will be definitely supplying 55 million doses Production at Bangalore is catching up very fast he said replying to a query On exports of Covaxin to other countries Ella said if the Centre permits the firm is ready to export the jab though the firm is not in a hurry to look for overseas markets According to him the governments focus is to fulfill domestic requirements India will resume export of surplus Covid-19 vaccines in the fourth quarter of 2021 under the Vaccine Maitri programme and to meet its commitment to the COVAX global pool but vaccinating its own citizens remains the topmost priority of the government Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said on Monday PTI GDK ROH ROH