South Africa is sitting with a massive stockpile of 21m Johnson & Johnson Covid doses and nearly 8m Pfizer dozes – worth a combined R3.9bn – as anticipated demand for the stocks bought at the height of the coronavirus pandemic has failed to materialise.
By 19 June, only 22.8m of the population of 60.8m people had received at least one jab, government figures show. At its peak, the vaccination programme reached more than 934 000 people in the week to 25 July 2021, but in the week to 18 June this year, just 13 200 shots were administered.
As a result, the department is holding 7.48m doses of Pfizer’s vaccine that may go to waste, Health Minister Dr Joe Phaahla has said.
Business Day reports that even if the SA Health Products Regulatory Authority (Sahpra) agreed to Pfizer’s request to extend the shelf life of the vaccines by six months, the current vaccination rate would barely make a dent in the stockpile.
The department also estimates that 20.8m doses worth R2.68bn of the J&J shot risk being wasted, with a third of these vaccines expiring by the end of August and the remainder all having expired by the end of February 2024.
Wits vaccinologist Shabir Madhi said fewer vaccines would have gone to waste if there had been better planning.
Indictment
“The fact that they haven’t been able to deploy the vaccines, and that they expired and need to get Pfizer to extend the shelf life, is an indictment of the vaccine roll-out. We raised concerns right at the start, saying they had aspirational goals without a meaningful strategy,” he said, referring to the scientists who advised the government on its Covid-19 response.
Madhi, a member of the WHO’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunisation, said there was no longer a strong case for vaccinating children and healthy adults, as 95% of the population had already been exposed to SARS-CoV-2. Current WHO advice is to vaccinate only healthy people between 55 and 65, he said.
Provincial Health Departments were instructed to stop administering Pfizer vaccines after 30 April, and to expect an interruption in supply that could extend to July, according to a circular by director-general Sandile Buthelezi. Pfizer is seeking a six-month extension on the shelf life of these vaccines, he said in the circular.
The lack of Pfizer vaccines means there are no shots available for children from 12 to 17, as it is the sole vaccine authorised by Sahpra for this age group. However, children are at relatively low risk of severe illness and death from Covid-19 compared with older adults, said the department of health.
Sahpra referred questions on extending the shelf life of Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccines to the company. Pfizer had not responded by the time of publication.
Business Day article – Expired Covid vaccines could cost SA R3.9bn (Restricted access)
See more from MedicalBrief archives:
Expired Covid vaccines will not be destroyed, Health Department says
Millions of unused, expired COVID vaccines to be destroyed, says Phaahla
Nigeria to destroy a million expired COVID-19 vaccines
100m COVID vaccines will expire in rich countries by Christmas