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* Vaccine shortage spurred Nigeria to accept the doses
* Rich nations had donated the shots with expiry looming
* Destruction meant to spur residents' confidence in vaccine
program
* Recent surge in supply brings new distribution challenges
*
By Camillus Eboh
ABUJA, Dec 22 (Reuters) - Nigeria on Wednesday destroyed
more than a million doses of expired AstraZeneca
vaccines in a bid to assure a wary public that they have been
taken out of circulation.
The destruction came more than a week after health
authorities said some COVID-19 doses donated by rich Western
nations had a shelf life that left only weeks to administer the
shots. Reuters reported on Dec. 7 that around one million
COVID-19 vaccines were estimated to have expired in Nigeria in
November without being used.
At a dump site in Abuja, a bulldozer crushed AstraZeneca
shots that were packed in cardboard boxes and plastic as
reporters and health officials watched.
Faisal Shuaib, the National Primary Health Care Development
Agency executive director told reporters that a shortage of
vaccine supplies on the continent, had forced Nigeria to take
the doses, knowing fully well they had a short shelf life.
"We have successfully withdrawn 1,066,214 doses of expired
AstraZeneca vaccines. We have kept our promise to be transparent
to Nigerians. The destruction today is an opportunity for
Nigerians to have faith in our vaccination programme," Shuaib
said.
Governments on the continent of over one billion people have
been pushing for more vaccine deliveries as inoculation rates
lag richer regions. The lower vaccination levels raise the risk
of higher infection and death rates from COVID-19, especially as
new, fast-spreading variants emerge such as Omicron.
Health minister Osagie Ehanire has said Nigeria will no
longer accept vaccines with a short shelf life, citing a
presidential committee decision.
The World Health Organisation said 12,971,729 vaccine doses
have been administered in Nigeria as of Dec. 19.
Africa's most populous country, with a population exceeding
200 million, has recorded 227,378 COVID-19 cases and 2,989
deaths since the pandemic started.
Health experts say Nigeria needs to triple its vaccination
drive from just over 100,000 doses a day to meet its target to
inoculate more than half its population by the end of next year.
Recently, like many other African countries, Nigeria has
seen a surge in vaccine supply, which has highlighted other
issues relating to distribution and hesitation by citizens to
get inoculated.
(Writing by MacDonald Dzirutwe;
Editing by Bernadette Baum)
