A special report earlier today by Reuters disclosed that about one million doses of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines expired in Nigeria last month before they could be used.
The discovery is apparently surprising, seeing as only about 3.79 million out of 200 million people in Nigeria (representing 1.8% of the population) have been able to get fully vaccinated, according to information gathered by Ikeanumba Africa.
Interestingly, Nigeria and other African countries have long been clamouring for increased vaccine deliveries to help inoculate more of the continent’s over one billion people. As a matter of fact, Nigeria even announced last month that it would borrow $30 million from multilateral lenders to build its own vaccine plant.
Seeing as the urgency to vaccinate more people has always been there, one cannot help but wonder why Nigeria would allow one million doses of vaccines to waste.
Well, one of those who spoke to Reuters claimed that the vaccines arrived Nigeria barely weeks to their expiration date, which explained why they could not be used on time.
“Nigeria is doing everything it can. But it’s struggling with short shelf life vaccines. Now (supply is) unpredictable and they’re sending too much,” explained one of the sources.
Recall that the World Health Organisation (WHO) had earlier raised some pertinent concerns with regards to vaccine rollout in Africa, citing the continent’s ability to preserve them properly prior to use. Responding to media queries regarding the expired vaccines, the global health organisation said:
“Vaccine wastage is to be expected in any immunisation programme, and in the context of COVID-19 deployment is a global phenomenon.”
The WHO also acknowledged the fact that vaccines delivered with “short life” span could most likely expire before they can be used.
