Exclusive: Up to 1 million COVID vaccines expired in Nigeria last month
Up to one
million COVID-19 vaccines are estimated to have expired in Nigeria last month
without being used, two sources told Reuters, one of the biggest single losses
of doses that shows the difficulty African nations have getting shots in arms.
Governments on the continent of
over one billion people have been pushing for more vaccine deliveries as
inoculation rates lag richer regions, increasing the risk of new variants such
as the Omicron coronavirus now spreading across South Africa.
In Nigeria, Africa's most
populous nation and home to more than 200 million people, fewer than 4% of
adults have been fully vaccinated, according to the World Health Organization
(WHO).
A recent surge in supply has
caused a new problem, however: many African countries are finding they do not
have the capacity to manage the shots, some of which come with a short shelf
life.
The expired doses were made by
AstraZeneca (AZN.L) and delivered from Europe, the sources with direct
knowledge of vaccine delivery and use told Reuters. They were supplied via
COVAX, the dose-sharing facility led by the GAVI vaccine alliance and the WHO
which is increasingly reliant on donations.
A third source with knowledge of
the delivery said some of the doses arrived within four-to-six weeks of expiry
and could not be used in time, despite efforts by health authorities.
A count of the expired doses is
still underway and an official number is yet to be finalised, the sources said.
"Nigeria is doing
everything it can. But it's struggling with short shelf life vaccines,"
one told Reuters. "Now (supply is) unpredictable and they're sending too
much."
A spokesperson for the National
Primary Health Care Development Agency - the body responsible for vaccinations
in Nigeria - said the number of vaccines received and used is still being
tallied and it would share its findings in the coming days.
The WHO said doses had expired,
but declined to give a figure. It said 800,000 additional doses that had been
at risk of expiry in October were all used in time.
"Vaccine wastage is to be
expected in any immunization programme, and in the context of COVID-19
deployment is a global phenomenon," the WHO said in a statement responding
to Reuters' questions. It said vaccines delivered with "very short"
shelf lives were a problem.
Nigeria's vaccine loss appears
to be one of the largest of its kind over such a short time period, even
outstripping the total number of vaccines that some other countries in the
region have received.
It is not alone in wasting
vaccines, however.
Across Europe, countries
including Germany and Switzerland have struggled to maximise the use of doses.
In January, officials in Britain forecast wastage of about 10% of vaccines. In
April, France's health minister told local media that 25% of AstraZeneca, 20%
of Moderna (MRNA.O) and 7% of Pfizer (PFE.N) vaccines were being wasted at the
time.
WEAK FOUNDATION
High vaccination rates in Africa
are vital to ending the COVID-19 pandemic globally, health experts say. Only
102 million people, or 7.5% of the Africa's population, are fully vaccinated,
according to the WHO.
Shortages of staff, equipment
and funds have hampered rollouts. An anticipated surge in supply, comprising
millions of doses in the coming weeks, could expose those weaknesses further,
experts warn.
Nigeria's underfunded health
system lacks everyday supplies like cotton swabs. Spotty power supply means
fridges holding vaccines need to be kept on expensive fuel generators. Millions
of citizens live in areas racked by banditry or Islamist insurgencies that
medics cannot reach.
"The foundation is not
strong. And if you don't have a strong foundation, there's not much you can
build on top," Health Minister Osagie Ehanire told a public forum last
week.
The short shelf life of donated
vaccines does not help African nations.
South Sudan and Democratic
Republic of Congo, both desperate for doses, had to send some back because they
could not distribute them in time. Namibia warned last month it may have to
destroy thousands of out-of-date doses.
The situation serves only to
increase vaccine inequality, experts warn.
"More than 8 billion doses
have now been administered – the largest vaccination campaign in history,"
WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Twitter on Monday,
marking a year ago this week since COVID vaccines were first administered.
"But we all know that this incredible achievement has been marred by horrific inequity."