Stop the criticism of ‘expired’ Covid-19 vaccines

 

From Wong Yao Hing

The recent revelation by certain quarters about the purported use of “expired” Covid-19 vaccines has garnered a lot of public attention. That prominent political and community leaders would jump on the bandwagon without fact-checking is disappointing, if not deeply worrisome.

The National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA) had, on Nov 16, announced the extension of the shelf life of the Sinovac and Pfizer Covid-19 vaccines in use in Malaysia. This is not unique to Malaysia. Other countries have also extended the shelf lives of Covid-19 vaccines.

Recommending the extension of vaccine shelf lives, informed by medical research evidence, is not unusual. From what I’ve learnt, recommendations for the extension of shelf lives have also been made for BCG, rabies and polio vaccines.

Vaccine expiry dates are recommended by manufacturers based on stability tests that are conducted by manufacturers and verified by the relevant regulatory bodies. Expiry date decisions are based on factors that include, importantly, antigenic value at different storage periods. Most vaccines have an expiry duration of between two and three years.

A typical vaccine takes five to 10 years of development. Prior to Covid-19, the fastest vaccine ever developed was for mumps, which took four years. The Sinovac vaccine was already administered to humans as early as Summer 2020. Pfizer received emergency use authorisation in the US on Dec 11,2020.

For Covid-19 vaccines, there was simply not enough time elapse to fully determine their shelf lives. No vaccine had been kept in stock long enough to determine a longer shelf life.

However, we now have vaccine samples of different storage lengths for which stability tests can be performed, and for expiry dates to be revised based on scientific evidence.

Continually highlighting the issue of “expired” vaccines despite repeated explanations by the relevant authorities is irresponsible. Public statements by public figures whose words bear influence in the community must be accurate, evidence-based, and backed by relevant domain knowledge.

The NPRA had issued a public statement on Nov 16, 2021 on the decision to extend the shelf lives of the Pfizer and Sinovac vaccines in Malaysia. Further clarifications were made in early January 2022, when some individuals reported being given “expired” vaccines. The NPRA had also explained how the public may verify the expiry dates by checking the batch number found on one’s vaccine certificate against the NPRA’s vaccine lot registry.

It is difficult to keep abreast with what is latest regarding Covid-19, with so many recent developments and changes happening at a dizzying speed.

We are all concerned about the wellbeing of our loved ones, families, and our community.

However, responding with a knee-jerk reaction based on inaccurate information is never wise. What is worse, prominent leaders making public statements that may cause vaccine hesitancy is potentially disastrous, as evidenced by what happened in Hong Kong in recent months.

The low vaccination rate in Hong Kong, underscored by a lack of trust among its residents, was a key factor for the tragic loss of lives in the recent fifth wave.

In Sarawak, the vaccination rate among children aged 5-11 was only 29.9% as at April 30, 2022. This is a real cause for concern. The kind of caterwauling by certain public figures, despite clarifications continually and repeatedly given since November 2021, is unproductive, immature and unbefitting of community leaders, who should model careful, critical and rational thought.

This vaccine expiry issue has become a media circus that is unhelpful, exasperating and troubling. - FMT

Wong Yao Hing is an FMT reader.

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.