The Nigerian government on Wednesday destroyed more than one million doses of expired Astra Zeneca Covid-19 vaccine, reported Africa News. The vaccine doses were donated by a number of countries a few months ago and have since passed their expiry dates.
The expired vaccine doses were destroyed at a dumpsite in Abuja, a week after the government said it will no longer accept donated COVID-19 vaccines with short shelf lives.
The Nigerian National Primary Health Care Development Agency head, Faisal Shuaib, said Nigeria was put in a difficult situation by developed countries that had procured these vaccines and hoarded them and then offered them for donation at the point they were about to expire.
The United Nations has long warned that inequalities in vaccine distribution across countries have left many vulnerable people in poorer nations without a single jab, even as richer countries roll out booster programmes.
Earlier this week, Nigerian health authorities said the country was witnessing a fourth wave of the coronavirus pandemic and appealed to the public to strictly comply with the rules during the holiday season.
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) said the number of coronavirus cases has increased by 500% over the past two weeks, driven by the highly contagious Delta and Omicron coronavirus variants.
The Nigerian government has reported more than 225,000 cases since the beginning of the pandemic, with fewer than 3,000 related deaths.
According to health experts, Nigeria will have to triple its vaccination speed from about 100,000 doses a day to meet its target of vaccinating more than half its population by the end of next year. Lower vaccination levels increase the risk of COVID-19 infection and death rates, especially as new, fast-spreading variants emerge such as Omicron.
The Omicron variant was first identified in South Africa last month. It has spread to almost 90 countries across the world.
