Despite expiry date, AstraZeneca doses good for another 3 months
/ Our Today
administrator23,000 receive jab in Jamaica on third day of latest blitz
As the Jamaican Government continues its push to inoculate as many individuals as possible with the vaccine supply currently in its possession, concerns raised yesterday – about today’s (April 13) expiration date for the AstraZeneca doses received through the African Supply Platform – have been put to rest.
An exclusive Reuters report back on March 30 revealed that, according to a source and document reviewed by the news agency, India’s drug regulator has allowed the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine to be used for up to nine months from its manufacture date, as opposed to the prescribed six months.
The doses received by Jamaica throught the African Supply Platform were produced last October with expiry dates set for six months later – April 13, 2021.
Yesterday’s public revelation of the expiry date appeared to explain why, over the first two days of the four-day vaccination blitz ending today, there were almost daily expansions in the number of priority groups as well as the eventual acknowledgement that no one seeking a vaccine would be turned away.
Several vaccination centres also extended their operating hours until 8:00 p.m. to ensure they were able to maximise the number of persons inoculated by the end of the blitz.
The move was a success as, by the end of operations last night, the Ministry of Health and Wellness was reporting an islandwide total of 23,504 vaccinations for the day.
With around 30,000 inoculations reported over the first two days, that would mean approximately 20,000 doses remain of the AstraZeneca vaccine on its expiry date, but it has already been deemed safe to use for another three months.
If individuals continue to seek vaccine doses at the same rate today, those three months may not even matter.
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