Australia considering donating more vaccines as wastage rises
Australia is looking to donate mRNA coronavirus vaccines and has delayed some imports in order to get through millions of existing doses before they expire.
Operation COVID Shield coordinator Lieutenant General John Frewen told the Senate COVID-19 Committee that the government was looking at donating doses of Pfizer and Moderna to countries in the Pacific and South East Asia as vaccines near expiry.
There are nearly 9.9 million doses of vaccines sitting unused in clinics around the country this week, and the wastage rate has crept up to 4.3 per cent from 1.2 per cent earlier in the rollout.
“We're still doing management to make sure that doses that are nearing expiry are being used first,” he said. “We are working to donate if that's appropriate. We have also delayed some deliveries of mRNA vaccines from overseas to make sure that we haven't gotten vaccines here that the clock has started ticking on for expiry as well.”
“Now we are saying if you have got a person who needs to be vaccinated they should open a vial ... That means sometimes a vial is being open when they've only got one walk in, and then they might not get any more walk-ins for the rest of the day. So you waste nine at the 10 doses.”
P.S. 10 Million sitting unused, what happened to the other 190 million doses if there are only 10 million doses left, it is not like anyone is up to their 9th dose at the moment.
