It is true that nearly 26 thousand doses have expired since February 18.Tulungagung, E Java (ANTARA) - Some 26 thousand doses of COVID-19 vaccines of the AstraZeneca and Moderna brands expired at the Tulungagung District Health Office in East Java, an official stated.
"It is true that nearly 26 thousand doses have expired since February 18," Chief of the Contagious Disease Prevention and Control Section at the Tulungagung District Health Office Didik Eka remarked on Friday.
The expired vaccines are currently being kept in cold storage, and none of them have been disposed of or destroyed, he confirmed.
The health office is awaiting the Health Ministry's recommendation over handling of the expired vaccines, he noted.
"The Health Ministry is still studying whether the expiry date can still be extended," he revealed.
Although tens of thousands of vaccines have expired, he ensured that vaccine requirements in the district are still safe. Alhamdulilah (Thank God), we still hold stocks from the central government," he added.
If the expiry date of the AstraZeneca and Moderna vaccines is extended, the vaccines will be used first, he remarked.
Eka pointed out that thousands of other vaccine doses will also expire in April.
"The vaccine that will soon expire is Sinovac. We will expedite the administration of the vaccine," he noted.
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Translator: Destyan H. Sujarwoko, Suharto
Editor: Sri Haryati
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