The national department of health has confirmed 92,370 unused Pfizer vaccines will expire on March 31.
“Due to the short shelf life of the Pfizer vaccine, all countries are challenged to use vaccines before expiry. Every effort is being made to ensure vaccines are used efficiently or optimally and wastage is minimised.”
“The manufacturers’ shelf life from the date of manufacture of the Comirnaty® vaccine is nine months when stored at -70ºC and 24 months for the Johnson & Johnson vaccine when stored at -20ºC. However, by the time the vaccine is received in the country, this shelf life is already reduced. In contrast to the demand at the start of the vaccination programme, current demand has waned,” the department said.
“However, not all countries use the same vaccines as those administered in SA. Other countries are also facing low vaccine uptake. The challenge with vaccine hesitancy is not only experienced in SA but globally. Several countries also had to dispose of expired vaccines. Some countries that could potentially accept the vaccines do not have the necessary infrastructure to safely store vaccines at the required ultra-cold temperature to prevent avoidable wastage,” the department said.