Parents wary as doubts on Covaxin's shelf life persist

Confusion over the expiry status of Covaxin has created widespread hesitation among parents, who remain unswayed by a central government clarification on the matter.

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, in a statement on Monday, affirmed that the shelf life of the vaccine was extended from 9 to 12 months. However, a December 23 letter by the Immunisation Division of the Ministry decreeing that label-expired vaccines should not be used is still causing apprehensions among parents, according to the Private Hospitals and Nursing Homes Association (PHANA).

The Centre has approved only Covaxin for vaccinating those below 18 years. The drive began on January 3.

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“When the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation had extended the shelf life of Covaxin, there was no reason for the ministry to comment further on its shelf life. Now, even though a clarification has come, a lot of damage has been done. Apprehension and doubt about Covaxin have gone ‘viral’ among parents,” said Dr H M Prasanna, president of PHANA.

Multiple private hospitals reported that parents continue to demand to see expiration dates on vials before they consent to have their child inoculated.

A representative of Bharat Biotech told DH that the firm had already issued two clarifications about the extension of the shelf life, in November and December.

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“The extensions were made based on scientific data,” the representative said.

This was elaborated by Dr Raches Ella, Project Lead at Bharat Biotech, who tweeted: “Usually, the shelf life of a vaccine is 1-2 years. Covid vaccines have only been around for a year; evolving data will extend the shelf life. This process will be constantly repeated until we know the (maximum) period.”

However, this has not convinced many parents. Mohammed Shakeel, President, Voice of Parents, said the confidence of parents has been first shaken by the low sample size of human trials and second, by an apparent non-transparent extension of shelf life.

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“Parents are divided on the matter. Only a small number of them in our association have actually opted to get their children vaccinated. The attitude of the majority is that their child is not a ‘guinea pig.’ These parents have a wait-and-watch attitude,” he said.

Meanwhile, Dr Prasanna said that Bharat Biotech has taken back 90 per cent of the six-lakh-odd label-expired doses in the city for relabelling. He added that the vials are likely not to be returned for 14 days. This will prevent many private hospitals from being able to offer vaccinations to the public during that period.

“In the interim, private hospitals have been getting queries from private schools and even RWAs to hold vaccination camps for children aged 15-17, but in the current situation, our hands are tied,” he said.

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