Nineteen million doses of vaccines in Indonesia's national COVID-19 stockpile have expired this year and 1.5 million more are set to expire next month, as donated shots arrive with a short shelf life, a health official said on Wednesday (Mar 30).
Indonesia and many other developing nations are ramping up their vaccination campaign, aided by donations from wealthy countries, but they have been calling for donations with a longer shelf life.
Lucia Rizka Andalusia, a senior health ministry official, told a parliamentary hearing that of the 19.3 million doses that expired between January and March, 97 per cent were donated.
Most of the expired were AstraZeneca's shot, and they also included Moderna's, she said.
Indonesia receives donations from the COVAX global vaccine sharing scheme and countries such as Australia and the United States.
