Appolonia Adeyemi 
A medical professional has described the recent confirmation that up to one million COVID-19 vaccine expired before being administered on citizens as scandalous, saying it was a good reason the federal government should define its priorities and agenda, not only on the Coronavirus pandemic but on other health issues.
The immediate former President of the Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria (MDCAN), Prof. Kenneth Ozoilo, who gave the advice, was reacting to recent confirmation by the Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire that such quantity of OxfordAstraZeneka vaccine donated to Nigeria through the Covax facility has expired.
He, however, blamed the expiration on vaccine hesitancy being recorded in the country, saying it was a major factor hindering the rollout of COVID-19 vaccination in Nigeria. “We, of course, also accepted taking into consideration the fact that our rate of vaccination, as a result of our vaccine hesitancy, would not permit that quantity of vaccines to be administered before the expiry date,” he lamented.
Ozoilo described the development as scandalous but not surprising. “Beggars, they say cannot be choosers,’’ he noted, adding: “The donors obviously donated products with short remaining shelf life.” While recommending the idea that the federal government should develop its priorities and agenda, Ozoilo affirmed that adopting this measure will ensure the government would not depend solely on a ‘copy paste’ of foreign players, however, altruistic they seem.
