Health Ministry: No expired vaccines were given out

PETALING JAYA: No expired Covid-19 vaccines were supplied to vaccine storage centres (PSV) or vaccination centres (PPVs), said the Health Ministry.

Responding to several social media postings where expired vaccines were allegedly given out, senior director of pharmaceutical services Norhaliza Halim said the ministry closely monitored the supply and expiry dates of all vaccines used for the public.

“In reference to some postings on social media, certain allegations could not be investigated properly because the location and date of the viral incident were not disclosed.

“The ministry continuously monitors the supply and expiry date of all Covid-19 vaccines supplied to the PSV and PPV using our vaccine management system (VMS), in addition to the existing inventory system available at the facilities involved.

“Based on our review of the system, no expired vaccine stocks were supplied to any PSV or PPV,” said Norhaliza in a statement.

She also explained that manufacturers could apply for vaccine shelf life to be extended, subject to evaluation and approval from the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA).

“Covid-19 vaccines were developed in a short period of less than two years, in response to the pandemic, compared to the normal development period of a pharmaceutical product. Therefore, there is a limited number of tests conducted to determine the shelf life of the vaccines.

“The manufacturer is only allowed to put an expiration date based on how long the stability of the vaccine has been tested in real time and not by extrapolation.

“If the manufacturer has additional data after further testing is carried out, the application to extend the shelf life of the vaccine will be submitted to the NPRA for evaluation.

“The extension of the shelf life of the vaccines will only be approved after the evaluation results confirm that it meets the regulatory requirements,” said Norhaliza, adding that this also applied to all other registered pharmaceutical products.

She said changes in storage temperature could also extend the shelf life of a Covid-19 vaccine product.

“A new expiration date will be assigned to the product. The vaccine will still be safe to administer as long as it has not passed the new expiration date,” she said.

Norhaliza also said the NPRA had approved an application to extend the shelf life of the Pfizer vaccine from six to nine months.

As for Sinovac, the shelf life of its vaccines that are manufactured in China has been extended from nine months to 12 months and for those produced by Pharmaniaga Lifescience Sdn Bhd, the shelf life has been extended from six months to 12 months.

“All health facilities have been notified of the shelf life extension of the vaccines,” said Norhaliza.