More than 40 lakh teenagers in the 15-18 age group received their first dose of Covid-19 vaccines on Monday as India began its drive to vaccinate the younger population groups. Some concerns were raised about ‘expired’ Covaxin being administered to this younger group, leading to the Health Ministry issuing a clarification.

The Ministry described these claims as “false and misleading” and said these were based on “incomplete information”. It pointed out that the shelf life of Covaxin, the only vaccine being given to the people below 18 years of age, had been extended in November after proper regulatory scrutiny, and as such these vaccine doses were as good as any.

What led to the concerns?

The anxiety arose after several people pointed out that vaccine batches that were supposed to expire in November were being administered to the younger people on Monday. The government later clarified that the shelf life of these vaccines had been extended from nine months to 12 months in November itself, and therefore there was nothing wrong with these batches.