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The successive changes in vaccination campaign against Covid-19 in Spain and the poor planning before the massive arrival of some vaccines has made the Government of Spain and the autonomous communities have had to destroy more than a million antigens against coronavirus SARS-CoV-2.
According to a response from Transparency portal of the Government of Spain to which EL ESPAÑOL has had access, the approximate number of vaccines that have spoiled in the custody of the Government of Spain amounts to more than one million.
By types of antigens, the Spanish Agency for Medicines and Health Products (AEMPS) specifies that some 69,000 doses have expired from Pfizer, 68,000 from Moderna, more than 400,000 from AstraZeneca and about 530,000 from Janssen.
The Ministry of Health (the body on which the AEMPS depends, who signs the Transparency response) is not responsible for expired vaccines, since it ensures that they are the “responsibility” of the autonomous communities.
The AEMPS does not recognize the responsibility of the Government in the waste of these doses or when the vaccines have expired, foreseeably, due to changes in the vaccination strategy, led by the Government itself. Ministry of Health.
Remember that this happened with Janssen (was reduced to a very small age group) and with AstraZeneca (was removed from the Ministry’s strategy after detecting some Adverse effects).
Pfizer and Moderna
Pfizer has been one of the most used vaccines in Spain. It was intended for most of the population and, consequently, Health informs that doses of this drug have not expired in its “temporary stores”, although it has happened in those of the autonomous communities to whom Health imposes all responsibility.
“It must be considered that the vaccines once distributed in the Autonomous Communities are the responsibility of these administrations and we do not know exactly the number of vaccines that may have expired under your responsibility“, they introduce.
For example, regarding Pfizer, the AEMPS assures that at the end of February the destruction of 68,448 doses of Pfizer vaccine had been reported in the autonomous communities, although it does not specify in which regions the most have been destroyed.
As far as Moderna is concerned, doses have not expired either in the temporary health stores, but they have in the Autonomous Communities. In this case, “as of February 1, the destruction of 67,250 doses of vaccine from Moderna in the autonomous communities.
AstraZeneca and Janssen
At this moment there are thousands of vaccines of AstraZeneca in storage between the doses returned by the Autonomous Communities and those that remained undistributed to the Autonomous Communities and that they could not be donated to other countries. “Basically because of the non-acceptance of some recipient countries,” they add.
And it is that, many vaccines that were going to be donated through the Covax mechanism or sold by bilateral transfers they have not been able to reach the countries of origin due to the deadlines.
Receiving countries do not accept items maturing in less than three months. The date is logical, since there is great complexity when it comes to sending, distributing and vial injection planning.
The total amount of expired AstraZeneca vaccines in Health stores is 343,183 doses, “although the definitive number cannot be determined with precision until the final destruction certificate is received.”
With regard to those guarded by the CCAA, the Aemps says it has proof that they may have expired “under its responsibility”, as of February 1, a total of 70,740 doses that have been destroyed.
From Janssen, 486,220 expired doses are in storage, doses returned by the Autonomous Communities after changes in the vaccination strategy. “Although the final number cannot be determined with precision until the final destruction certificate is received,” they insist.
On the other hand, as of February 1, the autonomous communities have reported the destruction of 48,335 doses of Janssen vaccine.
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