The Nigerian federal government destroyed this Wednesday over a million expired AstraZeneca vaccines, as confirmed by Nigerian health authorities quoted today by local media.
“We could have taken some expert advice and tested these vaccines after their expiration date, but (…) tLet’s decide to destroy them“said at a press conference held late on Wednesday the director of the National Development Agency for Primary Health Care (NPHCDA), Dr. Faisal Shuaib, according to the Nigerian press today.
Shuaib explained that these vaccines expired in November and they were part of a batch of more than 2.5 million doses that Nigeria received last October 11 and 29.
A short shelf life
“A few months ago when we were offered these doses, we knew they had a short shelf life, but (we accepted them because) we lived in a scenario where the supply of vaccines against covid-19 was very scarce“Shuaib specified.
At the time, according to Shuaib, the “countries that make the vaccines” were stockpiling them in their warehouses and They “offered donations” to Nigeria only “when they were about to expire”. “Still, we appreciate donations from those countries,” he added.
In addition, the NPHCDA recognized that various logistical inconveniences and other problems on the ground also contributed for vaccines to expire before they could be administered.
Shuaib, however, praised the healthcare workers for their efforts to try to administer these vaccines in the shortest time possible and described them as “heroes” who worked tirelessly.
“We work day and night in very extreme situations just to make sure Nigerians have access to vaccines, “said the NPHCDA director.
They ask for strict rules for the donation of vaccines to Africa
Last November, African Union Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Africa (Africa CDC) and the COVAX mechanism of the World Health Organization (WHO) called on the international community follow strict guidelines when delivering doses against covid-19 to the countries of the continent.
These institutions regretted in a joint statement that many donations were sent to African countries “on short notice and a short shelf life”, which makes health authorities have problems planning vaccination campaigns.
For now, Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa, with some 206 million inhabitants, registered more than 231,410 cases of covid-19, of which about 3,000 ended in deaths.
Until now, just over 2% of the total Nigerian population was vaccinated against the coronavirus with the full schedule.
Mario Twitchell is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his insightful and thought-provoking writing on a wide range of topics including general and opinion. He currently works as a writer at 247 news agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
