New Delhi: Dismissing reports alleging expired Covid vaccines are being administered in India as “false and misleading”, the Centre on Monday clarified that the national regulator had approved the shelf life extension of Covishield and Covaxin in February and October, 2021 respectively.
“There have been some media reports alleging that expired vaccines are being administered in India under its national COVID-19 vaccination programme. This is false and misleading and based on incomplete information,” the ministry said in a statement.
On October 25, 2021, in response to Bharat Biotech International Limited’s letter, the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) approved the extension of the shelf life of Covaxin (Whole Virion, Inactivated Coronavirus Vaccine) from nine months to 12 months, the ministry said.
Similarly, the shelf life of Covishield was extended by the drug regulator from six months to 9 months on February 22, 2021.
The shelf life of vaccines is extended by the CDSCO on the basis of a comprehensive analysis and examination of the stability study data furnished by the vaccine manufacturers, the ministry said.
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.
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