Most vaccines donated to Africa have a short shelf life, say entities
Most of the anti-covid-19 vaccine donations to Africa "have been made with little notice and with a short shelf life," said a group of leading public health organizations on the continent.
"This has made it extremely difficult for countries to plan vaccination campaigns and increase absorptive capacity," add in a joint statement the African Vaccine Acquisition Trust (Avat), the African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, meeting at the Africa CDC, and the Covax -- the international mechanism created by the Alliance for Vaccines (Gavi) and the World Health Organization (WHO) to allow 92 disadvantaged countries and territories to receive vaccines financed by rich countries free of charge.
So far, more than 90 million donated doses have been delivered to the continent through Covax and Avat, a number that does not include vaccines received as a result of bilateral agreements.
To achieve higher coverage rates across the continent, and for donations to be a complementary source to supply through procurement, "this trend has to change," the organizations say in the statement.
"Countries need a predictable and reliable supply. Having to plan for the short term and ensure the absorption of doses with a short shelf life exponentially increases the logistical burden on health systems that are already overloaded", they warn.
"Furthermore, the type of delivery made utilizes capabilities - human resources, infrastructure, cold chains - that could be directed towards a successful and sustainable long-term implementation," the text adds.
For the organizations, the fact that the immunization agents arrive on the continent with short expiry dates "may have repercussions, in the long term, on the trust in these products.
Donations to Covax, Avat and African countries “should be made in a way that allows countries to effectively mobilize domestic resources in support of implementation and allow for long-term planning to increase coverage rates. they call on the international community, in particular donor and manufacturing countries, to "commit themselves to this effort".
Predictability, setting goals, appropriate vaccine expiry dates - with a "minimum of ten weeks" -, advance notices of "not less than four weeks", response time and supply, in addition to vaccines, of all essential accessories for ensuring their rapid absorption, like syringes, are recommendations made to donors and manufacturers.
Text translated using artificial intelligence.
