Nigeria will destroy around one million expired COVID-19 vaccines, Faisal Shuaib, head of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), said on Monday, adding his agency was working with drug regulator NAFDAC to set a date for their destruction.
Nigeria’s health minister Osagie Ehanire said last week some COVID-19 doses donated by rich Western countries had a remaining shelf life of only weeks, adding to the country’s challenges in vaccinating its people.
Fewer than 4% of adults in Africa’s most populous nation of over 200 million have been fully vaccinated.
Shuaib said Nigeria will no longer accept vaccines with a short shelf life, citing a presidential committee decision.
Still, the World Health Organization’s vaccine director Kate O’Brien said in a briefing on Thursday the proportion of wasted doses is smaller in countries receiving doses through COVAX than in many high-income countries.
