Expert Says Wasting COVID-19 Vaccines ‘Unethical’ as Clock Ticks Closer on AstraZeneca Expiration Date

By Mary Webber First Posted: May 21, 2021 12:48 AM EDT

With thousands of AstraZeneca shots set to expire in the coming months, Kerry Bowman, a bioethicist at the University of Toronto, said that wasting COVID-19 vaccines is "unethical."

Federal officials said Thursday that Canadians who want to get these AstraZeneca doses as their second shot should be able to do so.

Deputy Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Howard Njoo said that so far, 2.1 million Canadians have already received their first dose of AstraZeneca, Global News reported. Njoo noted that not all who received AstraZeneca as their first dose would want to get it as their second dose.

Bowman said he hoped that Canadians would be given a choice to opt for AstraZeneca as their second dose if they have received it as a first dose.

AstraZeneca Expiration

The fate of AstraZeneca COVID-19 doses has been one the most heated topics among White House and federal health officials.

Some claimed that the administration should let the doses be given where they are desperately needed while others are not ready to relinquish them, The New York Times reported. AstraZeneca is also involved with these discussions.

Gonzalo Viña, a spokesman for AstraZeneca, said they had asked the U.S. government to consider donating the extra doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine to the European Union, where it has fallen short of its initial supply commitments.

In March, around 30 million doses are bottled at AstraZeneca's facility in West Chester, Ohio. The facility handles "fill-finish," which is the final phase of the manufacturing process.

U.S. clinical trial has not yet reported results on the AstraZeneca vaccine despite more than 70 countries already authorized using the vaccine.

The administration's initial hesitation to share the vaccine stemmed from uncertainties on vaccine supply before meeting the May goal laid down by President Joe Biden.

In Canada, several provinces had stopped giving AstraZeneca shots due to concerns of rare blood clots, CTVNews reported.

Health authorities are still trying to deliberate whether to continue the use or if using a different vaccine for second shots makes sense. Canadian federal Health Minister Patty Hajdu said that provinces and territories are weighing their options.

Reported Side Effects of AstraZeneca COVID-19 Vaccine

The British vaccine manufacturer had encountered several issues when it comes to its vaccine doses. In Scotland, some extremely rare deaths in the country have been reported due to adverse effects from COVID-19 vaccines.

Public health expert Prof Linda Bauld said they are aware of the rare blood clots, and they think these are linked to the AstraZeneca vaccine, BBC News reported.

However, she noted that it is not always possible to say that the vaccine had caused it since there may be other contributory factors.

In India, it has identified 26 suspected cases of bleeding and clotting among the many millions of recipients of the AstraZeneca vaccine.

The country's health minister described the risk as minuscule since it still fights a severe COVID outbreak in the country, Forbes reported. The ministry noted that the risk is "in-line with the expected number of diagnoses of these conditions."

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