Nigeria to destroy one million expired COVID-19 vaccines -official

FILE PHOTO: A health worker takes a dose of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine from a vial during the roll out of mass vaccination for the disease in Abuja, Nigeria, November 19, 2021. REUTERS/Afolabi Sotunde

ABUJA (Reuters) - Nigeria will destroy around one million expired COVID-19 vaccines, Faisal Shuaib, head of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), said on Monday, adding his agency was working with drug regulator NAFDAC to set a date for their destruction.

Nigeria's health minister Osagie Ehanire said last week some COVID-19 doses donated by rich Western countries had a remaining shelf life of only weeks, adding to the country's challenges in vaccinating its people. Fewer than 4% of adults in Africa's most populous nation of over 200 million have been fully vaccinated.