COVID-19 vaccine wastage in low-income countries: What is the starting point?

Vanessa Jaëlle Dor; Ronald Eveillard; Prakasini Satapathy; Bijaya K Padhi; Ranjit Sah

doi:10.1016/j.amsu.2022.104676

COVID-19 vaccine wastage in low-income countries: What is the starting point?

Ann Med Surg (Lond). 2022 Oct:82:104676. doi: 10.1016/j.amsu.2022.104676. Epub 2022 Sep 20.

Authors

Vanessa Jaëlle Dor¹, Ronald Eveillard², Prakasini Satapathy³, Bijaya K Padhi⁴, Ranjit Sah⁵

Affiliations

¹ Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
² Department of Pediatric, Haitian State University Hospital, Haiti.
³ Regional Virus Research & Diagnostic Lab-DHR, Department of Virology, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India.
⁴ Department of Community Medicine and School of Public Health, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, India.
⁵ Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital, Institute of Medicine, Kathmandu, Nepal.

Abstract

Another aspect to take into consideration is vaccine accessibility. For centuries, the geographical barrier has been a critical barrier to accessing healthcare services in many rural areas. The situation was not so different as the COVID-19 vaccine never reached some remote areas. But even in the urban ones, which are denser and more favorable for virus transmission, the vaccine delivery failed because of external factors unrelated to the vaccine itself. The recurrent gang violence and political unrest associated with natural disasters, such as the earthquake in the South part of Haïti in August 2021, prevented vaccine delivery by shifting the population priorities and disrupting or destroying the delivery system. Then, any delay in administering the vaccine to the target population increases the risk of vaccine expiration and wastage, as COVID-19 vaccines are known for having a limited shelf life.

Keywords: Supply chain; Trust; Vaccine inequity; Vaccine wastage.

Publication types

Editorial