1m doses of expired COVID-19 AstraZeneca vaccine stocked in Nigeria

The National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) has admitted stock of one million expired AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine in Nigeria. The expired covid vaccine have become dangerous for human usage. No details of the acquisition timing or conditions were given by the federal government on the expired vaccine.

However, the Executive Director of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Faisal Shuaib, has declared that the one million expired AstraZeneca vaccine will be destroyed by the federal government in line with environmental protocols.

The Executive Director of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA at a media briefing of the Presidential Steering Committee in Abuja maintained that the federal government did not administer expired covid vaccine on any Nigerian citizen.

The NPHCDA Executive Director highlighted that 7.89 million eligible citizens have received first dose of covid vaccines, adding that 3.9 million have received the full dose.

The Executive Director disclosed that only 496 Nigerian citizens have received booster dose.

Dr. Faisal affirmed that Nigeria will no longer acquire vaccines with a short shelf life as in the past, revealing that the PSC has administered over 10,000 doses of short-shelf life vaccines in the country.

The federal government had last month revealed that some COVID-19 vaccines have expired in Nigeria. the government also stated that the vaccines have been withdrawn from circulation for destruction by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC).

The Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, had in a statement, indicated that the donation of surplus Covid-19 vaccines with short/expiring shelf lives has been of great concern internationally. He did not explain why the Nigerian government accreted the controversial short shelf life vaccines.

The health minister, however, emphasized that the government is committed to upholding the greatest standards for the safety of all Nigerians, adding that government has been handling the situation effectively.