Covid: The country that vaccinated only 3% of the population, but will eliminate one million expired doses

It is the most populous country in Africa, but also one of the most backward on the continent in terms of coronavirus vaccination: only about 3% of the population is in Africa. Nigeria I received two doses of the Covid-19 vaccine.

The rate is very low, even compared to other countries in Africa. The South AfricaFor example, 24% of the population has been fully vaccinated.

Africa has 46% of the world’s known cases of the omicron variant, says WHO representative on the continent

However, information indicates that Nigeria has a large stockpile of expired vaccines that it has not used – according to Reuters news agency, this stockpile could reach one million doses.

The Nigerian Ministry of Health claims that all expired vaccines have been recalled and will be destroyed.

What vaccines were shipped to Nigeria?

Nigeria, like other African countries, struggled to access COVID-19 vaccines in early 2021 because manufacturers prioritized wealthier countries that had previously signed agreements.

Several African countries also trusted Covax’s scheme, which earlier this year struggled to meet vaccine supply commitments, particularly in Africa.

However, delivery has improved in recent weeks: the richest countries have begun to release the reserves they have, primarily through the Covax system.

Nigeria received 700 000 doses of the UK AstraZeneca vaccine in August, 800,000 from Canada in September and another 500 000 in France in October.

At the same time, Nigeria also received 4 million doses of Moderna and 3.6 million doses of Pfizer from the United States.

How long can vaccines be kept?

AstraZeneca doses are usually safe to store for at least six months from the time of manufacture under appropriate conditions. But Nigeria’s health ministry says some of the donated vaccines are nearing expiry, posing serious logistical challenges.

“This has left us with very little time, in some cases only weeks, to use it – with time for its transmission, distribution and delivery to users,” Health Minister Osaji Ihaner said.

He also said that sometimes bottlenecks arise as vaccines arrive one by one.

The government now says that expired vaccines will be destroyed and “politely rejects all donations of vaccines that do not have long before expiration or that cannot be delivered on time.”

Have expired vaccines been a problem in other countries?

It also left other African countries with expired vaccines, including Malawi NS South Sudan.

me and Democratic Republic of the Congo Unused vaccines are returned for distribution in other countries to avoid expiration.

In July, the World Health Organization (WHO)Who is the) reported that about 450,000 doses had expired in eight African countries, before they could be given due to the short shelf life.

The World Health Organization and the African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently called for a change in the way vaccines are donated to avoid waste.

“The need for short-term planning and ensuring consumption of doses with a short shelf life significantly increases the logistical burden for already overburdened health systems,” they stated in a note.

The two organizations required that donated vaccines have a shelf life of at least two and a half months before arriving in the country of destination. and that recipient countries are informed of donations a month before they are delivered.

Additionally, they expect these potions to be shipped with additional basic supplies, such as syringes.