South Sudan’s government won’t use expired COVID-19 drugs

South Sudan’s government says it won’t use the expired sixty thousand (60,000) doses of COVID-19 vaccines donated by the African Union in partnership with a South African telecoms giant MTN.

The country’s health ministry says the country’s policies don’t permit the use of medicines that expire in less than three months let alone expired ones.

Dr. RIchard Laku, South Sudan’s Covid-19 Incident Manager said. “We as South Sudan, we have already taken a stand, we are not going to use them, it’s what we are negotiating with the African Union, if they can take it and give it to anybody who wants to use it or if the company can take it back, we are still continuing with vaccination using the 132 thousand doses we got from COVAX Facility.”

The health Ministry says when the COVID-19 vaccines from the African Union arrived in the country they were just two weeks from reaching their expiration date.

The 60,000 does of the AstraZeneca vaccines from the AU arrived in South Sudan in late March.

Officials say the country’s Drugs and Food Authority blocked the use of the vaccines.

That’s because the policy of the authority is not to allow the use of any medicines that are set to expire in less than three months.

However, the World Health Organization says it consulted with AstraZeneca and it’s advising that the expired covid-19 vaccines could still be used for a further three months.

The country launched a vaccination campaign on April 6 using AstraZeneca jabs from the global COVAX facility and that process is ongoing. 

The Health Ministry says it has so far vaccinated close to four thousands health care workers and the elderly people in Juba. 

“We are targeting health care workers as the first group but also we are vaccinating the elderly, those who are sixty five years and above.” Said Dr. Laku

It plans to roll out the inoculation campaign across the country in the coming weeks.