They are not expired Covaxin doses: Government

It’s known that, since January 3 children aged 15-18 have been administered coronavirus vaccines. In this regard, a few media reports have claimed that the government is administering expired vaccines to children. On Wednesday, Congress Sevadal, an arm of the Congress party, wrote, “India is concerned how the shelf life of old stock of Covaxin which was 9 months, all of a sudden was extended up to 12 months? The vaccine has been administered to lakhs of teenagers. Is the young population a Guinea pig for DCGI and Central Government?”

Amidst the fears, latest media reports have tried to remove fears. The shelf-life has been extended after doing thorough research. “The extension is granted upon conducting a comprehensive examination and analysis of stability study data that is provided by the manufacturer of the vaccine,” a Financial Express report stated.

“Media reports claiming that expired vaccines are being administered in India are false and misleading. CDSCO had earlier approved the extension of shelf life of Covaxin and Covishield vaccines to 12 months and 9 months, respectively,” wrote columnist Nitendra Singh.