Advanced Countries Dumping Stock... Africa Massively Disposes of Vaccines

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] Nigeria, where the COVID-19 vaccination completion rate is only 3%, recently discarded a large quantity of unused vaccines. This is because leading vaccination countries such as the UK and the US sent stocks nearing their expiration dates.

On the 11th (local time), the BBC reported, "The amount of COVID-19 vaccines discarded by Nigeria reached about 1 million doses."

African countries like Nigeria have a high dependence on the international vaccine joint procurement project led by the World Health Organization (WHO), the COVAX facility, due to their failure to secure vaccines early in the COVID-19 crisis.

Advanced countries have enough vaccines to have completed the second dose and even started additional booster shots. As criticism of vaccine nationalism grew in the international community, these countries have recently been donating vaccines through COVAX.

In Nigeria's case, it received 700,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine from the UK in August, 800,000 doses from Canada in September, and 500,000 doses from France in October. Around the same time, it also received 4 million doses of the Moderna vaccine and 3.6 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine from the US.

The problem is that advanced countries sent stocks close to their expiration dates. The AstraZeneca vaccine, which accounts for the majority of vaccines supplied to Nigeria, can be stored for up to six months from the production date.

The Nigerian Ministry of Health stated, "Some of the vaccines supplied had only a few weeks left before expiration when considering the time taken from transportation to sorting and distribution," and added, "We politely refuse supplies of vaccines that are close to their disposal date."

Not only Nigeria but also Malawi, Congo, and Sudan are facing similar issues. According to the WHO, as of July, the amount of vaccines discarded due to expiration in eight African countries reached 450,000 doses.

African health authorities said, "Supplying vaccines with little time left before expiration causes confusion in the health system," and requested, "Please supply vaccines with at least two and a half months remaining before expiration. Since we need to plan vaccinations, please notify us at least one month before supply."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.