Fact check: Bharat Covaxin approved for trial among children above age of 12, not for use as yet

New Delhi, May 12: A post has gone viral that Bharat Biotech's Covaxin has got approval has been approved for children above the age of 12. "Great News : Bharat Biotech's (Made in India) Covaxin Approved for Children Above 12 years," a Facebook user posted.

"This claim is fake. No such approval has been given by the Government of India. Currently, citizens above the age of 18 are eligible for the Covid-19 vaccination," the Press Information Bureau clarified.
As of now there is no approval for vaccination for those below the age of 18. As per the latest norms, those in the age group 18-44 are eligible for the vaccination. "The general practice is to first evaluate any new vaccine in older population, and then age reduction is done to assess the safety and effectiveness in paediatric population. The currently available vaccines have not been evaluated in children so far. There are some clinical trials now underway to test the effectiveness and safety of the Covid-19 vaccines in children," the Health Ministry said.

Covaxin has been approved by the Drugs Controller of India for trial among children above the age of 12 years. On Tuesday an expert panel recommended Bharat Biotech's COVID-19 vaccine for phase II and III clinical trial for those between the age of 2 and 18 years.

The Subject Expert Committee (SEC) on COVID-19 of the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) on Tuesday deliberated upon Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech's application seeking permission to conduct phase II/III clinical trials to evaluate the safety, reactogenicity and immunogenicity of Covaxin jabs in children aged 2 to 18 years.