Fact-Check: No, Covaxin has not yet been approved for children by the government, but Zee News and BJP leaders say otherwise

On October 12,2021 news began to flash that Covaxin had gotten emergency approval from the government to be administered to children between the ages of 2 and 18. 

This came as a very good news for everyone as children in India have not yet been vaccinated against COVID-19

The news spread like wildfire on all news channels and social media platforms. People started to claim that the vaccine has been given full approval by the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation as if the vaccine is to be administered to children immediately. 

Many BJP leaders and even Zee News claimed the above.

Fact-Check: 

However after performing some keyword searches on the issue, we found various news reports that detailed this so-called approval. According to NDTV, a Subject Expert Committee (SEC) were the ones who looked at the data provided by Bharat Biotech and approved it. The final approval comes from the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI)  who has not yet approved the vaccine. 

A clarification was also issued by Minister of State in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare Dr Bharati Pawar who emphasised on the fact that discussions and deliberations are still taking place. 

Therefore, this claim is false.