Corona Vaccine Expiry Date: Amidst increasing cases, the big question is, what is the expiry date of corona vaccines. 1 News Track English

Corona Vaccine Expiry Date: All medicines and vaccines have an expiry date i.e. they must be used within a certain time frame. It is believed that after the expiry date, the medicine, vaccine or any such thing on which the expiry date is written becomes useless or harmful. This also applies to corona vaccines.

The WHO has said that due to the short shelf-life, many countries have faced challenges in using all available doses of vaccines before the expiry date. It is extremely important that countries ensure that all available vaccine doses are used.

Expiry date issues have come to the fore in Nigeria, Brazil, South Africa where vaccines from companies such as Pfizer and Moderna arrive late or all doses are not used within the deadline.

how long the vaccine stays potent

How long a vaccine remains potent depends on stability tests and can be increased based on the data, as with Covishield and Covaxin.

In fact, talk about the expiry date of vaccines has arisen because more than 4 million teenagers in the age group of 15-18 received their first dose of corona vaccine on 3 January. Some concerns were expressed about this youth group being given expired covaccine, which led to a clarification by the Ministry of Health.

The ministry termed these claims as false and misleading and said that these claims were based on half-incomplete information. According to the ministry, the shelf life of Covaxin, the only vaccine given to people below 18 years of age, was extended in November after due regulatory scrutiny. These doses of vaccine were as good as any. In November itself, the shelf life of these vaccines was increased from nine months to 12 months, and so there was nothing wrong with these batches.

The health ministry said that on the basis of comprehensive analysis and testing of stability study data submitted by vaccine manufacturers, the shelf life of vaccines is extended by the national regulator, Central Drugs Standard Control Organization or CDSCO. Gave up, and nothing special was done for Covaxin.

In response to an application from Bharat Biotech, the manufacturer of Covaccine, CDSCO on October 25, 2021 approved the extension of the shelf life of this vaccine from 9 to 12 months from the date of manufacture.

Indeed, with shelf-life extensions, hospitals can use up stock that was nearing expiration. In this way, the wastage of the vaccine can be avoided.

what is the expiry date

Vaccines are complex mixtures of proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, inactivated viruses, or adjuvants and are intended to enhance the immune response and efficacy of the vaccine. Vaccines, like any other medicinal products, come with an expiry date and shelf life as prescribed by the manufacturer and approved by regulatory authorities. Slow chemical reactions can cause the components of the vaccine to deteriorate and lose their effectiveness over time.

Stability, according to the World Health Organization, is the ability of a vaccine to retain all of its properties within a specified time frame throughout its shelf life.

The stability test also covers the packaging and storage conditions and on this basis determines the shelf life. Stability tests have three specific purposes, which vary throughout the lifetime of a vaccine. First, it is conducted to determine shelf life and storage conditions.

Second, the test monitors the stability of the vaccine in the post-licensing period, that is, after the vaccine is commercially sold. The third test is done to meet the WHO guidelines.