Unused Covaxin Vaccine Stock Relabelled To Extend Expiry Date To 12 Months

According to sources, Bharat Biotech is picking up unused stocks of Covid-19 vaccine, Covaxin, and updating the expiry date on the labels.

This follows after the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) approved that the vaccine’s expiry date can be extended from nine to 12 months. This approval is based on the stability studies showing that the vaccine is good up to 12 months.

Earlier, the shelf life of vaccine was considered to be only up to six months.

Every vaccine dose has a shelf life (expiry date) that is determined after various tests are conducted to assess how long a vaccine can stay sterile and stable in different temperatures and environments.

Covaxin-maker Bharat Biotech, received an extension of 12 months on the shelf life of its Covid vaccine, in November 2021.

After getting this approval, Bharat Biotech has now started to pick up unused stock of Covaxin and will re-label them with a new expiry date. 

This re-labelled stock will be used for the ongoing vaccination drive and also for vaccination of children in the age group 15-18.

Meanwhile, experts and concerned citizens have demanded that the mass rollout of COVID-19 vaccines in India should be halted immediately. These experimental vaccines pose serious dangers. That is the message contained in a statement from concerned citizens forwarded to India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Contrary to popular belief, the “Swadeshi” Indian COVID-19 vaccine COVAXIN maker Bharat Biotech was backed since its inception by Bill Gates and the international pharma lobby. Bharat Biotech is the first Indian company to receive massive grants from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for vaccine against Rotavirus called Rotavac.

The vaccine was given green light by the authorities even before its trials were complete and its efficacy is mired in controversy till today with cases pending in the Supreme Court.