Govt should consider exchanging expiring J&J vaccine with other countries in need

It will be harder for the government to secure additional doses of COVID-19 vaccines if it allows roughly 20,000 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to expire at the end of the year, former Prime Minister Dr. Hubert Minnis said yesterday, adding that the government should consider exchanging the doses with another country that is in need.

“We may be placed in a position where we would be discarding vaccines which would send a very terrible message to the 

international community whom I’m certain are monitoring our vaccination rates and make it very difficult for us to receive vaccines moving forward,” Minnis told The Nassau Guardian.

“…The J&J one-dose vaccine, that was purchased from the African platform in conjunction with CARICOM nations. We would have approved a $45,000 deposit. That was 15 percent, so that was paid already. To discard 20,000 sends a very bad message.

“When we were in similar situations, we used to monitor our rate versus expiration and when we found ourselves in difficulty, we would exchange with various different countries, so as to extend our expiration date and utilize our vaccines as opposed to discarding them.”

He said he hopes the government can do a similar exchange rather than discarding vaccines.

Minnis said the government needs to ensure that the money spent on vaccines is not wasted.

“It needs to be explored with other territories, so as not to throw away the $45,000 we’ve already paid as deposit,” he said.

“We still have outstanding to pay.” 

On Tuesday, Minister of Health and Wellness Dr. Michael Darville said the government will do everything in its power to ensure that those doses are administered before they expire.

He said demand for the vaccine, which is one of three secured by The Bahamas, dwindled after the government secured Pfizer in August.

“With that being said, we will be offering some incentives for individuals to get to the Johnson & Johnson vaccine,” Darville said.

As of November 27, 146,441 Bahamians were fully vaccinated.

Individuals over the age of 12 are eligible to receive the vaccine in The Bahamas.

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source https://thenassauguardian.com/govt-should-consider-exchanging-expiring-jj-vaccine-with-other-countries-in-need/