Spokesman on Health and Wellness, Dr Morais Guy, made clear yesterday the Opposition’s intention to reject any attempt by the Government to utilise expired AstraZeneca vaccine doses and called on Health Minister Dr Christopher Tufton to refrain from seeking relevant approval to use the vaccines beyond their April 13 expiry date.
The Opposition’s response came after the country’s Chief Medical Officer Dr Jacqueline Bisasor McKenzie announced the Government’s intention to seek authorisation from the World Health Organisation and the manufacturers of the vaccine to continue its usage in the event unused doses remained after its expiration date.
According to Guy, pursuing such a plan would be ill-advised, as the European Medical Agency, in a publication on January 29, 2021, specifically warned against the use of coronavirus vaccines after expiry dates.
“Had the Government been forthcoming about the expiration date of the recently acquired shipment of vaccines, and alerted the public of the reduced usage window, I am sure people would have cooperated with requests for immediate take-up.”
Dr Morais Guy, Opposition Spokesman on Health and Wellness
He added that, due to the nature of formulations in drugs, they are not to be used after they have expired and this regime is even more strict for vaccines.
The Opposition spokesman said the use of the expired vaccines could unnecessarily expose the Jamaican population to health risks and, given the already high levels of vaccine-hesitancy in Jamaica, the Government’s handling of the issue would only serve to heighten skepticism.
“Had the Government been forthcoming about the expiration date of the recently acquired shipment of vaccines, and alerted the public of the reduced usage window, I am sure people would have cooperated with requests for immediate take-up,” said Guy.
He further said: “Instead, citizens were left to make the discovery on their own, reducing public confidence. As it is now, some may not even want the vaccine.”
While Guy acknowledged that the Opposition had no problem with the vaccines being used until today (April 13), based on the manufacturer’s labeling, “Anything else will put the population at risk and Jamaica will lose the protection of AstraZeneca” as manufacturers generally do not guarantee the efficacy of drugs used after expiry dates.
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