- The health department says there is an ongoing review into the stability of Pfizer Covid-19 vaccines set to expire in December and January.
- Deputy director-general Nicholas Crisp said Sahpra would decide what happens to the vaccines after receiving lab test results.
- Crisp said the regulator might extend the expiration dates by three months.
The health department says there is an ongoing review on the stability of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccines ahead of their expiration in December and January next year.
Deputy director-general Dr Nicholas Crisp said a batch of 3.9 million vaccines would expire on 31 December and another 4.7 million a month later on 31 January.
He said the SA Health Products Regulatory Authority (Sahpra) might extend the expiration dates on a rolling three-month basis, depending on the lab test results.
Responding to questions from members of the Health Portfolio Committee alongside Health Minister Joe Phaahla, Crisp said the department had not destroyed any vaccines since procuring the first batch in 2020.
"We have been able to use all of the doses. So far, we have not destroyed any vaccines. The only vaccines that get destroyed are half-used or unused vials in the periphery at sites. Otherwise, no vaccines have been destroyed yet," he said.
Crisp also responded to EFF MP Naledi Chirwa, who accused the department of stockpiling vaccines despite dwindling intake. She cited sources from the department that claimed that it had procured 20 million Pfizer vaccines.
According to Chirwa, the inside sources she could not identify told the EFF they were concerned by the department's "bias" towards the Pfizer vaccines.
Crisp said the department last procured vaccines in June last year.
Phaahla denied the existence of a backhanded deal with pharmaceutical companies, saying the claim was unfounded.
"Whatever we do is public, and we report to the committee, Treasury, and the Auditor-G audits us," he said.
Crisp added that the available batch would be enough to cover a surge in infections.
He said while it suspended the reporting of daily cases due to decreasing infection rates, the department would reimpose similar restrictions in case of an uptick in infections.
Phaahla said vaccination uptake reduced significantly after the height of the Delta variant.
"When there was a high mortality rate, we had good uptake, but as soon as severity went down, the uptake slowed," he said.