‘Kids do not need paracetamol after taking Covid jab’: Bharat Biotech

Putting all the speculations to rest, Bharat Biotech in an official statement have said that there is no need to give any medicine to the kids, post the Covid jab.

Amid the continuous surge in Covid-19 infections and the threat of Omicron variant, the vaccination drive for teenagers aged 15-17 is underway across the country. However, there has been some confusion around giving kids paracetamol or any painkiller to help ease the side effects. Putting all the speculations to rest, an official statement has cleared that there is no need to give any medicine to the kids, post the Covid jab.

Bharat Biotech, which manufactures Covaxin, on Twitter, clarified that there is no need to give paracetamol or any other painkiller to teenagers after vaccination. The response came after they received feedback on certain immunisation centers recommending three paracetamol 500 mg tablets along with Covaxin for teenagers.

According to the Union Health Ministry’s revised vaccination guidelines, teenagers from 15 to 17 years of age would only be administered a Covaxin dose.

In the Twitter post, the manufacturer informed that in its clinical trials, spanning 30,000 individuals, approximately 10-20 percent of individuals have reported side effects. It further mentioned that most of the symptoms experienced by the individuals were mild, and got resolved within 1-2 days without any medication. “Medication is only recommended after you consult a physician,” it added.

The vaccination drive for teenagers, in India, began on January 3, 2022, and within two days, it surpassed the 1-crore mark. The information was provided on Twitter by Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya. He further appealed to all eligible teenagers to get vaccinated at the earliest.

As per the CoWIN dashboard, 1,72,99,925 children have been inoculated with the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine so far.