By Hassan Zaggi
The over one million doses of expired AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines doses have finally been destroyed by the Federal Government.
It would be recalled that few days ago, there was a controversy over the expiration of COVID-19 vaccines in the country.
On December 8, the Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire, cleared the issue when he explained that “Nigeria has, of late enjoyed the generosity of several, mainly European countries, who have offered us doses of Covid-19 vaccines out of their stockpiles, free of charge, through COVAX or AVAT facility. These donations are always acknowledged and thankfully received: however, some of them had residual shelf lives of only few months that left us very short time, some just weeks, to use them, after deduction of time to transport, clear, distribute and deliver to users. If such vaccines arrive back-to-back or are many, logistic bottlenecks occasionally arise.”
The destruction was carried out by the Abuja Environmental Protection Agency and supervised by the Director General of National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Dr. Faisal Shuaib and the Director General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye.
Speaking at the destruction of the vaccines in Abuja Wednesday, the Executive Director of the NPHCDA, Dr. Faisal Shuaib, said that the action was carried out on behalf of the Presidential Steering Committee on COVID-19.
According to him: “We had promised you in the last couple of days that we have successfully withdrawn about 1,066,214 of expired Astrazenecal vaccine.
“As you can see, this vaccine has now been deposited by the Abuja Environmental Protection Agency.
“We have come through in our promise to all Nigerians to be transparent in our delivery of vaccines.
“These did not expire before we took the decision to withdraw them.
“Today is an opportunity for Nigerians to have further faith in our vaccination programme because we have lived up to the expectations of all Nigerians
“We had the option if we were to take the advice of some experts to try and use these vaccines even beyond the labelled expiry date. But working together with the DG of NAFDAC, we took that decision to destroy the vaccines at the point that they got expired.”
The destruction of the expired vaccines, according to Faisal, was to further demonstrate the high standards that we operate within Nigeria.
“The work that we do is work that requires trust. It is a sacred trust that has been bestowed on us by the generality of the whole Nigerians. We hold that trust to be true and we guide that trust very jealously. This is why today we are destroying these vaccines that have expired.
“I want to assure all Nigerians that the heroes of today’s activities are actually the frontline health workers.
“A few months ago, when these vaccines were offered to us, we knew that we have a short shelve life but we were living in an environment where the supply of COVID-19 vaccines were very scarce.
“They were not available due to vaccine nationalism. We had developed countries that procured these vaccines and hoarded them in their stores.
“At the point that they were about to expire, they were offered for donation. While we appreciate the donations from these countries, we have to acknowledge the fact that they were almost expired vaccines.
“Because we wanted to satisfy and protect Nigerians, we offered to accept these vaccines, work collaboratively with NAFDAC to ensure they also test the vaccines to be in good condition then we roll out. We rolled out under very difficult circumstances.”
He commended frontline health workers for doing excellent jobs, explaining that: “We actually got our frontline workers working nigh night and day.
“Staff of the National Health Care Development Agency did not know Saturdays or Sundays, they were working round the clock under very extreme situations just to make sure that Nigerians have access to vaccines even when these vaccines were not widely available.”
Speaking, the NAFDAC DG, Mojisola Adeyeye, explained that the destruction of the expired vaccines was a desire to give Nigerians the best.
“Nigeria is a unique country in terms of immunisation, we have a regulatory agency and primary health working hand in hand since September of last year, planning on when the vaccines would arrive.
“It is only Nigeria that had that kind of setting. Many other countries’ regulatory agencies have been told to copy what Nigeria is doing. Nigeria has one of the best vaccination immunization programme in the world. UNICEF mentioned it last year.
“In terms of what we are witnessing today, it is a continuous unfolding of the fact that the best is for us Nigerians.
“Nigerians deserve the best in terms of quality of medicines and vaccines.
“That was the basis for the endless meeting between National Primary Health Care Development Agency and NAFDAC.
“When NAFDAC approves a vaccines, we wait for the vaccines to come.
“Just like my brother, the DG of NPHCDA said, the vaccines came with primary health care agency as the marketing authorisation holder.
“They are the ones to receive the vaccines to immunize the country. However, we have been working day and night together.
“And what he said as vaccines coming to the country with expiration dating posed a challenge to us as a country. But because of the love of country, we decided to work with that transfer of challenge,” she said.
