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Prague may have to get rid of thousands of doses of AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine, as they expire next month. Demand for the jab recommended only for people over 60 years of age due to possible side effects remains low.
Some 55,000 doses of the vaccine manufactured by Anglo-Swedish company AstraZeneca and shipped to the Czech Republic are expected to expire by the end of October, Czech radio station IROZHLAS reported. While around 10,000 of these are expected to be used to deliver second doses, the remaining lots may need to be cremated if demand for the jab does not skyrocket.
So far it has been at its lowest. According to data cited in the report, only 36 people have chosen AstraZeneca for their first dose in September, and a total of 774 people have been vaccinated so far.
In July and August, only about 1,200 people newly vaccinated switched to AstraZeneca’s vaccine, a tiny fraction of the 860,000 people who requested their first dose during that time.
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More than 14,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine were thrown away in the past month alone due to lack of public interest, Czech media reported.
Its apparent lack of popularity has been blamed on the fact that since June the Czech Ministry of Health has recommended that the AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccines be given only to people over 60 years of age. The precaution was introduced after the vaccine was suspected. cause life-threatening blood clots detected in some younger people after receiving the jab. Although cases are reported to be rare, several countries, including the Czech Republic, have limited or discontinued use of the vaccine.
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Czech Health Ministry spokesman Daniel Koppl said the government does not expect the remaining doses to be used up before the time runs out. And while Prague recently donated over 200,000 doses of AstraZeneca to other countries, this time the lots cannot be collected due to legal hurdles, he told Radiozurnal over the weekend. -end.
The problem is that unused doses have already been delivered and distributed across the country. “The law does not allow us to donate these vaccines because as soon as they are taken out of the controlled distribution chain, they are supposed to be used. They cannot be transmitted ”, said Koppl.
So far, 55% of the eligible Czech population has been fully vaccinated, while the authorities have set a vaccination rate of 75% as a target.
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