More than 92,000 Pfizer Covid-19 vaccines in SA expire on Thursday, millions more by July

The national department of health has confirmed 92,370 unused Pfizer vaccines will expire on March 31.

On Tuesday the department said it would have no choice but to discard the vaccines. 

“To date 33,405,701 doses of Covid-19 vaccines have been administered, and no unused vaccines have been discarded at the central warehouses due to expiry. However, at the end of March, about 92,370 doses of Pfizer vaccine are due to expire and will be disposed of according to the minimum standard for the disposal and destruction of medicines and scheduled substances,” the department said.

The vaccines due to be destroyed are a small percentage of all the Pfizer vaccines received by SA to date.

“The volume due to expire is equivalent to 0.24% of all Pfizer doses received, which is under the World Health Organization’s 10% acceptable ratio of vaccine waste. All expiring stock is held in quarantine until the last day of expiry, after which the existing protocol for the destruction of medical waste will be activated to ensure safe and environmentally responsible disposal.”

The department said it would ensure the expired vaccines are disposed of properly.

It said despite the loss of vaccines, it had made great strides in vaccinating South Africans though fewer people were turning up at vaccination sites. 

The department said it had been careful with receiving vaccines and deliveries were staggered and based on availability of doses and storage capacity in the country.

SA was not the only country forced to deal with expiring Pfizer vaccines.

“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.”

Thousands more Pfizer vaccines are set to expire in the next few months. The department said a batch of 892,270 vaccines was set to expire in May. Another 845,800 were due to expire in June and more 4.8-million would expire in July.

“The manufacturers’ shelf life from the date of manufacture of the Comirnaty® (Pfizer) 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.

It stressed that would continue to explore other options to mitigate the wastage of vaccines as a result of expiry, including exchange and donation through the Covax facility.

“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.

It stressed that while this is the first time it is disposing of Covid-19 materials, disposing of unused medicines was nothing new and happened on a regular basis.

The department called for all of those who are yet to get vaccinated to do so, adding that the fourth wave of  Covid-19 infections was anticipated during winter. 

“We are not out of the woods yet, and all unvaccinated and partly vaccinated people are urged to fully vaccinate and get booster shots to enhance their protection from severe illness and death,” the health department said.

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