Kenya is the latest African country to reject advice by the World Health Organization and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention not to destroy expired Covid-19 vaccines amidst a biting shortage of doses in the continent.
Kenya, which has inoculated more than one million people since it received its first batch of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine on March 6, said no expired doses would be administered in the country.
“Our priority is the health and safety of all Kenyans who receive the free jab,” said Willis Solomon Akhwale, the chairperson of the National Taskforce on Vaccine Deployment and Vaccinations in Kenya.
“We cannot risk anyone’s life with the expired vaccine, and in the event, we get any that is expired, we will destroy it openly,” he said. The current batch of doses in the country will expire in July.
Kenya expects to receive 24 million doses of the vaccines through the Covid-19 Vaccines Global Access facility. The doses will cover 30 percent of Kenya’s population of 47.6 million.
But the production of the vaccines has run into headwinds after a severe second wave of the disease hit India, where some doses are being manufactured, meaning African countries might have to wait longer to receive their orders.
The World Health Organization’s Regional Office for Africa, Matshidiso Rebecca Natalie Moeti, urged African countries to store the shots—made by the Serum Institute of India—until more information is available.
“My understanding is that the expiry date could be several months longer than had initially been envisaged,” she said in a media briefing last week. “But we will look for the definitive information.”
While attempting to allay fears about the safety of the expired doses, John Nkengasong, the director of the Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, said that the vaccines donated to most African countries could be used until July 13, 2021.
“The vaccines can still be used even after nine months,” said Nkengasong during a news conference on April 22. But most African countries are sceptical.