Thousands of Covid vaccines expire in South Sudan
Health authorities in slotxo South Sudan have reported that 60,000 doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca
vaccine, donated by the African Union, expired before they were used.
The country last month postponed the start of the vaccination campaign, citing logistical challenges.
Vaccinations are currently being done using another batch of 132,000 doses. received in March
through the vaccine sharing Covax initiative.
Dr Richard Laku, the government's Incident Manager, said even if the country had started
vaccinations using the 60,000 doses, they wouldn't have finished them before the expiry date.
About 2,000 health workers and the elderly in the capital Juba have received their first jab since
the rollout started two weeks ago.
The World Health Organization’s Country Representative, Fabian Ndenzako, said they would offer
guidance to the government on how to dispose the vaccines if called upon.
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