Another six-month extension has been given to the shelf life of the country’s unused Pfizer Covid-19 vaccines by the South African Heath Products Regulatory Authority (Sahpra), during which time the Health Department will have to administer 7.48m jabs before expiration.
Last month, Health Minister Dr Joe Phaahla said millions of doses of expired Pfizer vaccines, worth around R1.2bn, would go to waste unless Sahpra agreed to extend their shelf life.
Last week, the department’s chief director for sector-wide procurement, Khadija Jamaloodien, said Pfizer had submitted new stability data to Sahpra that had enabled an extension of the shots from 18 months to 24 months.
It has not been confirmed whether they will be dispensed only in the public sector or whether private healthcare providers will be brought back on board.
Independent Community Pharmacy Association CEO Jackie Maimin said that including the private sector would boost demand.
“Interest in the vaccines is very low, and if people think they must sit and wait at a public facility they just won’t bother to go. We need to make the vaccines available in as many primary healthcare settings as possible, and link boosters to everyday clinic visits, which would be the only way to drive demand, in my opinion.”
BusinessDay PressReader article – Regulator extends life of Pfizer’s jabs (Open access)
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