27 Thousand Doses Of AstraZeneca Vaccine In Central Sulawesi Threatened To Expiration

SULTENG - Central Sulawesi Provincial Health Office estimates that tens of thousands more doses of Astrazeneca vaccine will expire and cannot be used.

Head of the Central Sulawesi Provincial Health Office, dr. I Komang Adi Sujendra said that currently there are still 27 thousand doses of AstraZeneca vaccine from the previous total of 100 thousand doses that were relocated from the provinces of West Java and Yogyakarta.

"We just received it on January 7 last, the number is quite a lot of 100 thousand but currently there are 27 thousand doses left, and it is estimated that it will not be used up because it will expire on January 31," said Komang Adi Sujendra at Kendari, Antara, Thursday, January 20.

According to him, the main factor that affects the number of doses of the vaccine that is in danger of not being used is the very short time, both the time of receipt and the end of its use.

In addition, several previous regulations have also not allowed to inject the third dose of vaccine, because the cumulative total of Central Sulawesi vaccinations in the elderly group has not reached the minimum requirement of 60 percent, although in the adult group it has reached 70 percent.

Based on these factors, continued Adi Sujendra, his party has a strategy to use the AstraZeneca vaccine only for the third dose or booster with the target of the elderly (elderly) group, according to regulations issued by the central government and the Ministry of Health.

"Although, cumulatively, Central Sulawesi has not yet reached the minimum requirement for the elderly group, which is 60 percent, it has obtained the ministry's permit, because if it is sent again to another province, the potential will be expired," he explained.

Until now, the Central Sulawesi Health Office and related parties are still intensifying booster vaccinations for the elderly group using the AstraZeneca vaccine, before it will expire on January 31 next.

"Because it's still safe, unless it's January 31 or after that, we won't use it like medicine," he said.