Temporary hold on Pfizer vaccinations, expired stock to be incinerated

THE administration of doses of the Pfizer covid19 vaccine will be temporarily on hold next week. This is because the unused doses in the current second tranche of the vaccine will expire on Monday. This is approximately 260,000 doses. They will be destroyed by incineration.

Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh made these announcements during the virtual health news conference on Saturday. As he confirmed the doses of Pfizer vaccine in stock will expire on Monday, Deyalsingh said, "We expect our third tranche of 75,000 (doses) some time next week." The public will be advised when these doses arrive in Trinidad and Tobago.

"What we have to do from Tuesday, March 1 is temporarily suspend our Pfizer vaccination programme." All locations where vaccines are administered, county medical health officers and other health personnel have been advised of this.

The stock of Pfizer vaccines will be pulled out of circulation from around noon on Monday.

He reiterated, "So we are alerting the public that from Tuesday, March 1, no Pfizer vaccine will be available anywhere in TT just for a couple of days while we await the 75,000 (doses) that will be coming in."

On the disposal of the vaccine supply, Deyalsingh said, "It doesn't go to the public dump or anything like that. It will be a process of incineration."

In a subsequent statement, the Health Ministry said members of the public who are 18 years of age and older, and are not pregnant, can continue to access both the Sinopharm, and Johnson and Johnson (J&J) covid19 vaccines at all designated vaccination locations, for first, second and booster doses.

The ministry said that any covid19 vaccine which has received World Health Organisation approval (emergency use listing-EUL ) may be used as a booster for any other approved vaccine.

The public was reminded that pregnant women in their second and third trimesters should only receive the Pfizer vaccine; at this time, pregnant women in their first trimester are not advised to get the vaccine.

Also minors ages 12-17 should only receive the Pfizer vaccine and children 5-11 should only receive the approved Pfizer vaccine for that age group, when it becomes available.

The ministry reiterated that the temporary suspension of the Pfizer vaccine affects pregnant women in their second and third trimesters and children ages 12-17.

The covid19 booster programme will not be affected by the temporary suspension of Pfizer vaccinations. Deyalsingh said this is because "you can be boosted now with anything (WHO- approved covid19 vaccine)."

He then provided data on the doses of different covid19 vaccines used since they became available last year.

A total of 897,405 doses of Sinopharm have been administered in terms of first and second doses and booster, to date. Similarly 241,167 doses of AstraZeneca, 328,441 doses of Pfizer and 328,441 doses of Pfizer, have been respectively administered. J&J is the only single dose covid19 regime, all other vaccines are two-dose regimes.

Deyalsingh said TT does not have the capacity to manufacture covid19 vaccines. "To set up a vaccine manufacturing plant is a very detailed process." He said the Serum Institute of India is one of the largest manufacturers of vaccines in the world, even before covid19.

"Small countries like us don't have that capacity." TT is not involved in plans by the WHO to establish a facility in South Korea to provide training for drug manufacturing in poorer countries to increase local production, combat chronic diseases and enhance preparation for the next global health crisis.

Deyalsingh said, "We will look at it when the opportunity comes to us." He added that if official correspondence on this issue comes from the WHO and its application to TT's situation, "we will certainly take advantage of that opportunity."

On the school outreach vaccination programme, Deyalsingh expressed disappointment that those figures had not improved with only 38 secondary school students being vaccinated thus far.

On February 23, Deyalsingh said only 14 students had been vaccinated under this programme up to that time. He described that as pathetically low