Over 100,000 Covid Vaccine Doses To Be Discarded Due To Expiry
NHK has learned that at least 100,000 coronavirus vaccine doses will have to be discarded in five municipalities in Japan after they expire.
NHK polled Japan's 20 largest cities and the 23 wards in the capital Tokyo on their plans for vaccine use.
The survey found that the five municipalities expect to dispose of at least 102,290 Moderna vaccine doses that will expire in April.
Osaka City says it will have to dispose of some 80,000 doses, followed by Tokyo's Nakano Ward at 13,935.
As for other wards, Meguro expects to discard about 6,000 doses, Bunkyo 1,575 and Suginami 780.
The health ministry notified municipalities on April 22 that the shelf life of the Pfizer vaccine was extended from nine months to one year. That allowed Hamamatsu City to avoid disposing of 354 doses, but Tokyo's Suginami Ward had already gotten rid of 18.
Citing reasons for their discarding, most of the municipalities said vaccination figures have been lower than initially expected. They also said not many people were willing to get the Moderna shot.
The survey also found that at least 37,666 doses have been discarded in 31 municipalities due to improper storage procedures, power blackouts and other reasons.
The health ministry has not disclosed vaccine prices, so the total cost of disposal remains unknown.
Ministry officials are calling on local authorities to effectively use their stocks by encouraging more people to receive shots, and using those close to their expiry dates first. The officials urge the authorities to share stored vaccines to reduce waste as much as possible.