Expired covid-19 vaccines have not yet been incinerated; are kept in storage, according to the PAI
He specified that there are enough vaccines for those who wish to apply a fourth dose or complete their scheme
The director of
the Expanded Program on Immunization (PAI), Dr. Aída Lucía Varga, expressed this Wednesday that so far she has not incinerated the expired covid-19 vaccines, despite the fact that the health authorities reported that it would be their
final destination.
“
The expired vaccines are withdrawn from the Provincial Health Directorates (DPS) through a survey accompanied by an inventory, a letter signed by the authorities of each DPS and they are
stored to later be incinerated”, he explained, emphasizing that they have not yet have incinerated these injectables.
In February, Vice Minister Eladio Pérez Antonio stated that "the vaccines that are about to expire would be discarded or incinerated."
The specialist said that to date
they have only incinerated expendable material that is used in the inoculation days in the different authorized centers.
"Until now we have incinerated waste, used syringes," Varga said without specifying the number of expired doses that they have in the warehouse intended for collection.
Overdue amount
Although the Ministry of Public Health has not detailed the exact figures for expired vaccines, it is estimated that
up to March 30 of this year , approximately 354,240 doses of vaccines expired, which would add up to 708,480 expired doses in the last months of this year, which which implies a cost of about 2,800 million dollars.
Sufficient vaccines
Dr. Varga stressed that the recommendation made by the World Health Organization (
WHO ) on applying a covid reinforcement with a fourth dose to people
over 60 years of age , is not a prohibition for citizens of other ages, but a recommendation for that the doses are equitably distributed to vulnerable people.
He stressed that
there are enough doses for people who need to complete their vaccination schedule with a second, third or fourth dose against the coronavirus.
Source; ListinDiario
