Nearly 700 vials of vaccines rubbished!
Nearly 700 unused vials of COVID-19 vaccines that were present in the BVI has ended up in the trash.
Health Minister Carvin Malone shared news of this wastage during a COVID-19 update to the territory recently.
He said: “We still had to discard some 685 vials of the vaccines in the territory on account of them expiring on the 31st July; and with the present situation globally with more and more waves of different variants causing countries to once again close or implement more stringent travel protocols, vaccines supplies are even shorter and procurement is even more difficult.”
“But your government remains steadfast and continues to do all that it can to ensure that the people of this territory have every opportunity to get vaccinated. I am confident that we will get to the 80 percent needed for optimal protection against COVID-19 and its variants and that we will once again safely reopen. But again, we cannot and will not without the participation and willingness of you, the people in doing your part,” the minister added.
He, however, assured residents that the 685 vials were properly disposed.
The BVI is now administering from the new batch of vaccines it recently received from the United Kingdom.
“We must give a debt of gratitude again to the United Kingdom government for providing the 3,040 doses of AstraZeneca that was received recently and is now being administered,” Malone stated.
He said: “We still had to discard some 685 vials of the vaccines in the territory on account of them expiring on the 31st July; and with the present situation globally with more and more waves of different variants causing countries to once again close or implement more stringent travel protocols, vaccines supplies are even shorter and procurement is even more difficult.”
“But your government remains steadfast and continues to do all that it can to ensure that the people of this territory have every opportunity to get vaccinated. I am confident that we will get to the 80 percent needed for optimal protection against COVID-19 and its variants and that we will once again safely reopen. But again, we cannot and will not without the participation and willingness of you, the people in doing your part,” the minister added.
He, however, assured residents that the 685 vials were properly disposed.
The BVI is now administering from the new batch of vaccines it recently received from the United Kingdom.
“We must give a debt of gratitude again to the United Kingdom government for providing the 3,040 doses of AstraZeneca that was received recently and is now being administered,” Malone stated.
