Expired, Nigeria Destroys One Million Doses Of COVID-19 AstraZeneca Vaccine Donated By Western Countries

Illustration of the AstraZeneca vaccine. (Wikimedia Commons/Whispyhistory)

JAKARTA - Nigeria destroyed more than one million doses of AstraZeneca's expired COVID-19 vaccine, in a bid to reassure people concerned that the doses had been removed from circulation.

The culling comes more than a week after health authorities said some of the COVID-19 doses donated by wealthy Western countries had a shelf life of only a few weeks left to give the shot.

Reuters reported on December 7 that about one million COVID-19 vaccines were estimated to have expired in Nigeria by November without being used.

At a landfill in Abuja, a bulldozer destroys an AstraZeneca vaccine packaged in cardboard and plastic boxes as journalists and health officials watch.

Faisal Shuaib, executive director of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency told reporters the shortage of vaccine supply on the continent, has forced Nigerians to take doses from abroad, knowing full well that they have a short shelf life.

"We have successfully recalled 1.066.214 doses of expired AstraZeneca vaccine. We have kept our promise to be transparent to Nigerians. Today's destruction is an opportunity for Nigerians to believe in our vaccination program," Shuaib said, citing Reuters on December 23.

Governments on a continent of more than a billion people have pushed for more vaccine shipments, as inoculation rates lag behind wealthier regions.

Lower vaccination rates increase the risk of infection and higher death rates from COVID-19, especially when new, fast-spreading variants emerge such as Omicron.

Health Minister Osagie Ehanire said Nigeria would no longer accept vaccines with short shelf lives, citing a presidential committee decision.

Separately, the World Health Organization (WHO) said 12.971.729 doses of the vaccine had been administered in Nigeria as of December 19. Meanwhile, Africa's most populous country, with a population exceeding 200 million, has recorded 227.378 cases of COVID-19 and 2.989 deaths since the pandemic began.

To note, health experts say Nigeria needs to double its vaccination efforts from just 100.000 doses per day, to meet its target to inoculate more than half of its population by the end of next year.

Recently, like many other African countries, Nigeria has seen a surge in vaccine supply, which has highlighted other issues related to distribution and citizens' hesitation to inject.