JOHANNESBURG, South Africa: The slow distribution to residents in South Africa may result in some 100,000 doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine being destroyed at the end of March.
Even though the country has recorded the highest rate of coronavirus infections and deaths on the African continent, vaccinations of South Africans have slowed, while the country now has abundant vaccine stocks of about 25 million doses.
“There is a risk that just over 100,000 or so doses, which will expire by end of March..may have to be discarded. It will be a sad day if significant volumes of doses can end up being discarded. We hope it will not reach that stage,” Health Minister Joe Phaahla said.
He noted that the department was trying to speed inoculations to save the vaccine doses from being destroyed. South Africa has fully vaccinated some 43 percent of its 40 million adults.
