North Penajam Paser Health Service Destroys Expired AstraZeneca Booster Vaccine

UNSPLASH ILLUSTRATION

PENAJAM - The Health Office of North Penajam Paser Regency, East Kalimantan, has not yet destroyed the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine as a third dose or booster vaccine that has expired because it is still waiting for instructions from the Ministry of Health.

Head of Disease Prevention and Control at the North Penajam Paser District Health Office, Sri Temu, said that the AstraZeneca type of COVID-19 vaccine will expire on February 28 and March 11, 2022.

"We received the vaccine near the expiration date, the third dose of special vaccine could not be spent because the enthusiasm of the people for the booster was quite low," he said, quoted by Antara, Saturday, March 19.

"Doses of expired vaccines are distributed in the Technical Implementation Unit or UPT of Petung, Sebakung and Semoi Health Centers," he added.

The expired AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine was 23 vials at the Petung Public Health Center, 10 vials at the Sebakung Health Center and 12 vials at the Semoi Health Center.

According to him, the issue of the expiration of the COVID-19 vaccine does not only occur in North Penajam Paser Regency, but also in other regencies/cities in East Kalimantan.

The expired AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine is stored in each puskesmas, he continued, pending instructions from the East Kalimantan Provincial Government or the Ministry of Health.

"The vaccines for the third dose of expired AstraZeneca are stored at a temperature of 2-8 degrees Celsius according to regulations," Sri Temu explained.

"We are still waiting for follow-up instructions, whether the expired vaccine is destroyed or returned to the East Kalimantan Health Service," he said.

The AstraZeneca type of COVID-19 vaccine as the third dose of vaccine was not distributed before the expiration date, he said, because many people did not want the three-dose vaccine.

The third dose of COVID-19 vaccination services are also widely opened at the same time, such as vaccination services carried out by the TNI/Polri, so they are not focused on the puskesmas.