240mn Covid-19 vaccine doses in rich nations to expire by March
The report, released by science analytics company Airfinity, came on a day when Unicef officials told Reuters that 100 million doses were rejected last month by poorer countries because they were nearing their expiry date.
Approximately 240 million Covid-19 vaccine doses are set to expire in G7 and European Union countries by March, independent analysts said on Thursday, shedding new light on surplus stocks with rich nations that could have been used in poorer countries where millions are yet to receive their first doses.
The report, released by science analytics company Airfinity, came on a day when Unicef officials told Reuters that 100 million doses were rejected last month by poorer countries because they were nearing their expiry date.
The Airfinity analysis now estimates another 241 million will expire in G7 and EU nations by March. “These numbers show that vaccinating the world is now largely a distribution problem and no longer a supply issue. Even after successful booster rollouts, there are surplus doses available that risk going to waste if not shared very soon. The emergence of Omicron and the likelihood of future variants shows there is no time to waste,” said co-founder and CEO of Airfinity, Rasmus Bech Hansen.
The Airfinity forecast takes into account doses administered, boosters for everyone over 12 years-old, vaccine hesitancy and donations in G7 nations and EU.
“Countries need these vaccines to have a minimum shelf life of two months, otherwise there isn’t enough time to get them to the people who need them. Once this two month requirement is factored into our analysis the number of potentially wasted doses could rise to 500 million by March,” said Matt Linley, lead analyst at Airfinity,