Approximately half a million doses of the coronavirus vaccine have expired in Moldova, according to the National Agency of Public Health (ANSP). Currently, there are still 70,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine remaining in stock, but due to low demand for vaccination, there is no need to receive new batches, as reported by radiomoldova.md.
According to ANSP, since the start of the vaccination campaign until now, approximately 500,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have expired in Moldova and the Transnistrian region. By the end of March, around 211,000 doses of Pfizer vaccine and approximately 50,000 doses of Sinopharm vaccine had lost their effectiveness.
Viaceslav Guțu, the head of the department of epidemiological surveillance of vaccine-preventable diseases, stated that the expired batches of Pfizer vaccine are not being used in any medical institution in the country. He also mentioned that they are awaiting a decision from the World Health Organization regarding the extension of vaccine shelf life.
The expired doses of Sinopharm vaccine were destroyed by order of the Ministry of Health. The vaccines are first inactivated with a 0.5% chlorine solution and then considered medical waste according to the rules for the safe handling of unusable vaccines, as established by Ministry of Health Order No. 258 dated 17.03.2022. Medical institutions have contracted specialized organizations for the collection of medical waste to ensure proper disposal of expired vaccines. Some of the expired doses of Pfizer vaccine were purchased by Moldova itself, while the remaining vaccines were sent through donations.
According to ANSP, approximately 70,000 vaccines are still usable. The expiration date for 26,694 doses of Pfizer vaccine is August 31st, and the expiration date for 43,297 doses of Sinovac vaccine is in the summer of 2024.
To date, over 2,200,000 doses of the vaccine have been administered in Moldova. Due to decreased demand for the COVID-19 vaccine both in our country and worldwide, most countries are facing the problem of having a large quantity of expired or soon-to-expire vaccines.
