Kathmandu. The government has not been able to dispose of the ‘Sinovac’ vaccine against COVID-19 even after a year and a half of its expiry. The 4 million doses of the Sinovac vaccine received as a grant from the Chinese government have expired because they could not be used in time.

On the 12th of Chait 2078 (Nepali calendar), the vaccine provided by the Chinese government has been reported by the vaccination branch under the Family Welfare Division to have expired in the second week of Poush 2080 (Nepali calendar). It was planned to destroy the expired vaccine using the private company’s machine (incinerator). Although the division had agreed with the company to destroy it at 70 rupees per kg, the company later retracted, stating that they could not carry out the disposal at that amount, as stated by Dayakrishna Pant, the head of the vaccination branch under the division.

The audit of the vaccine has been completed along with a physical inspection. According to the health department, 4.9 million expired doses of the COVID-19 vaccine and other regular vaccines need to be destroyed. There are 26 thousand kilograms of the vaccine against the coronavirus (COVID-19) and 30 thousand kilograms of other vaccines that need to be destroyed.Previously, the government had discussed whether to take the expired vaccines to brick kilns or the Hetauda cement industry for destruction. However, the cement industry responded that they could not destroy the vaccines.The report prepared by the office of the auditor general mentions that the Sinovac vaccine against COVID-19, slated for destruction, is valued at 15.668 billion rupees.

Health risks have increased. Vaccine expert Shyamraj Upreti pointed out that if the government fails to make appropriate decisions in time, it will add further economic and environmental burdens in the future.He stated that storing vaccines for a long time could negatively impact the environment and public health if, for any reason, the vaccine vials break.

Dr. Upreti, a vaccine expert, stated that in the past, cement factories were used to destroy such types of vaccines. ‘Small (incinerator) burning machines cannot safely destroy such a large quantity of vaccines,’ he said, ‘high temperatures like those in a cement factory are needed, which is why that process was adopted in the past.’ According to Dr. Upreti, the country or company providing the vaccine usually has provisions to take it back after the expiry. If there is no such agreement for donated vaccines, the likelihood of taking it back is low. He made it clear that the expired Sinovac vaccine has taught us the lesson that agreements regarding the management and destruction of vaccines or medicines obtained as donations need to be made beforehand.

The process of destroying expired Sinovac vaccines against COVID-19 has been halted due to a lack of budget, said Dr. Pawanjang Rayamaji, head of the Management Division under the Department of Health Services. He mentioned that although it was estimated that about 2.5 million rupees would be needed to safely destroy the vaccines, the Health Services Department currently has only 400,000 to 500,000 rupees available, which is why the process could not proceed.

‘The method of incinerating at high temperatures is used to safely destroy the vaccine. For this, the company has already been identified and the necessary paperwork has been prepared,’ he said. Dr. Rayamajhi mentioned that the department has already informed the Ministry of Health about the budget required to destroy the vaccine. He stated that the ministry has given a positive response on this matter.

‘We are trying to mobilize resources and are expecting support from the ministry and international partners,’ he said, ‘As soon as we secure the resources, we will begin the destruction work.’China refuses to take back vaccineDr. Prakash Budhathoki, spokesperson for the Ministry of Health and Population, stated that China has rejected Nepal’s diplomatic efforts to take back the vaccines.He said that while vaccines purchased could be returned after expiration, China does not agree to take back donated vaccines, stating that there is no practice of returning vaccines provided as donations.