In an effort to assure people that they wouldn't be given expired vaccines, health authorities in Malawi burned nearly 20,000 outdated doses of the coronavirus immunization. The African country, which received 102,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine from the African Union on March 26, used almost 80% of them, the BBC reported.
With the vaccines expiring on April 13, officials said there wasn't enough time to use all the medicine. Health officials then decided that it would be more beneficial to burn the unused doses.
"When news spread that we had out-of-date vaccines, we noticed that people were not coming to our clinics to get immunized," Dr. Charles Mwansambo told the BBC. "If we don't burn them, people will think that we are using expired vaccines in our facilities and if they don't come, Covid-19 will hit them hard."
The World Health Organization, which initially urged countries not to destroy expired doses, has now changed its stance.
"While discarding vaccines is deeply regrettable in the context of any immunization program, WHO recommends that these expired doses should be removed from the distribution chain and safely disposed of," the organization said in a statement.
Malawi, which has a population of about 18 million people, has recorded 34,232 confirmed coronavirus cases and 1,153 deaths. While a part of the population has been reluctant to receive the vaccine, the country has also struggled to distribute doses effectively.
Some residents who remain apprehensive about the immunization said there is still a lot they don't know about the vaccines.
"I have heard a lot of stories about people getting blood clots and some even dying after getting immunized. Are those people telling lies? If it is the truth, why are we being given the same vaccines?" Malawi resident Mphatso Chipenda said.
According to ABC News, Africa represents 16% of the world's population but has received less than 2% of the COVID-19 vaccine doses administered around the world. Austin Demby, Sierra Leone’s health minister, said there is a lack of urgency among some people because they have decided that COVID-19 is “not as bad as Ebola.”
Demby adds that there is a mistrust in authorities.
“People are worried this is another public experiment they want to make on our people," he said.
Some are questioning the speed at which the vaccines have been produced.
“The world has failed to find a vaccine for AIDS all these years, but they quickly found a vaccine for COVID? I am not going to go for that vaccine,” Richard Bbale, an electrician in the Ugandan capital, Kampala, told ABC News. “Even if the government forces us to get the vaccine as if it’s a national ID, I will not go.”
