Fact Checked: Did AU and MTN donate expired Covid-19 vaccines to S. Sudan?
- Apr 21, 2021
- 3 min read
Author: Emmanuel Bida
Health officials have confirmed that the 59,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines donated by the African Union, Africa Center for Disease Control and Prevention, and MTN were not expired as perceived by many South Sudanese.
Earlier this week, a prominent South Sudanese activist claimed that MTN that the African Union donated expired AstraZeneca vaccines to South Sudan.
“So MTN donated for us expired 59,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines. We would’ve put such a huge number of people lives under risk. Big thanks to our medical experts for realizing and acting very fast. Kudos!” reads the Facebook post.
Another tweet on 18th April by a prominent comedian, who has 5,920 followers on Twitter in a fun-related manner also did state that the AstraZeneca vaccines donated by MTN to South Sudan were expired.
“So, @MTNSSD donated expired vaccines to South Sudan? Did they think they were donating data bundles?” reads the tweet.
Are contents shared above true? NO!
It is identified by 211 Check that the over 59,000 AstraZeneca Vaccines donated by the African Union, Africa CDC, and MTN arrived on Monday, 29th March 2021 to South Sudan, and were received by Ministry of Health’s Undersecretary Mayen Machut and MTN South Sudan Chief Executive Officer Gordian Kyomukama at Juba International Airport.
When contacted by 211 Check, a National Health Ministry official said the vaccines were supposed to be administered to over 29,000 healthcare workers across South Sudan.
So what happened?
On Tuesday April 13, 2021, an official from the Ministry of Health told Reuters News Agency that the vaccines expired and will not be used.
As can be seen in the below picture, the vaccines were manufactured on 16th October, 2020 and expired on 13th April, 2021.
Dr. Atem Riak Anyoun is the Director General for Primary Healthcare at the Ministry of Health.
As part of his job description, he oversees vaccine deployment across the country.
Dr. Atem confirmed to 211 Check on Friday that the 59,283 doses of the vaccines donated by the African Union and MTN on Monday, 29th March 2021 expired on 13th April 2021 and will not be used.
“The vaccines from MTN have expired on the 13th of April. We are not using any expired vaccines at all. When a vaccine expires, it will not be used and that is it” said Atem.
Note: This means that the AstraZeneca vaccines donated to South Sudan by the African Union, Africa CDC and MTN expired in the country two weeks after arrival.
Meanwhile, COVID-19 Incident Manager Dr. Richard Laku told journalists at the weekly media briefing on Sunday that they could not use the vaccines because the Drug and Food Control Authority doesn’t allow the use of medicines with such a short shelf lifespan.
Which vaccines are being used in South Sudan now?
The health authorities say they are currently using the 132,000 doses of the first batch of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines obtained directly from the COVAX facility last month. These vaccines are also expected to expire in July.
What is the safe lifespan of the AstraZeneca vaccines?
According to AstraZeneca, the vaccine can be stored, transported, and handled at normal refrigerated conditions (two-eight degrees Celsius/36-46 degrees Fahrenheit) for at least six months and administered within existing healthcare settings.
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