Almost 80.000 doses of vaccines will be destroyed due to the expiration date, most of which are produced by Pfizer and Moderna.
By the end of June, for the same reason and with the current pace of vaccination, more than 100.000 doses of Pfizer vaccines could be sent for destruction.
"Montefarm" replied to "Vijesta" that the expiration date for 39.310 doses of the Moderna vaccine expired in April. Given that Slovenia donated 42.000 doses of this vaccine to Montenegro, this means that only 2.690 doses were consumed in three and a half months.
In "Montefarm" they also claim that the deadline for 33.000 doses of Pfizer vaccines expired in March and April.
"Public health institutions return vaccines every day due to expired deadlines, so the data changes on a daily basis... In addition to the listed doses, another 7.495 doses are set aside for destruction in our warehouse, public health institutions returned an additional 10 doses of the Moderna vaccine, as well as 54 doses of Gam covid vaccine (Sputnik V)", writes in the answer of "Montefarma".
The institution clarified that they currently have 35.574 vaccines available until the end of May and 116.880 doses that can be used until the end of June.
In addition to the Pfizer vaccine, citizens also have 200.000 doses of the Sinofarm vaccine with an expiration date of March 15, 2023, and an additional 23.000 doses with an expiration date of May 29 of the following year.
100.000 doses of Corona Vac vaccines are also available, with an expiration date of July 8, 2024. It is a vaccine from the Chinese manufacturer Sinovac, which Montenegro received as a donation from the Republic of Turkey. The data show that not a single dose of this vaccine has been used in almost seven months.
Of the approximately one million doses of vaccines from various manufacturers that the state acquired during the past year, approximately 150.000 were forwarded for destruction due to expired expiration dates.
Previously, about 27.754 doses of vaccines, most of which were produced by AstraZeneca, were destroyed due to expired expiration dates in the fall of last year.
In March of this year, an additional 35.000 doses of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine were withdrawn, out of a total of 40.000 purchased by the state.
Vaccination of priority groups in Montenegro began in February last year, and mass immunization in May 2021.
According to the website covidodgovor.me, by May 7, 290.761 received the first dose of the vaccine, 282.846 the second, while 98.832 people were vaccinated with the third dose.
Recommendation for the fourth dose
According to the recommendations of the National Expert Advisory Body for Immunizations (NITAG) from the end of last month, the fourth dose of the vaccine against the coronavirus should be given to people over 60 years of age, as well as younger people, who are at greater risk of severe forms of covid-19 infection.
The recommendations state that the second booster dose is recommended at least four months after the third dose for people who received a vaccine that was given in two doses (Pfizer, Moderna, Sinofarm, Sinovak, Astra Zeneka, Sputnik V) or as the third dose for vaccines that were received in one dose (J&J vaccine).
The fourth dose is recommended for all persons over the age of 60, persons aged between 18 and 15 with chronic diseases, and adults who do not belong to the mentioned groups can also receive it.
"As the fourth dose (second booster dose) of the vaccine, mRNA vaccines are recommended - Pfizer is recommended for people under 40 years old, and Modern or Pfizer vaccine is recommended for people over 40 years old," the recommendations say.
NITAG does not recommend vaccination with the fourth dose to citizens who have received three doses of the vaccine, the J&J vaccine with one booster dose of the mRNA vaccine, and who have recovered from covid since the beginning of the year.
NITAG recommends mRNA (Pfizer or Moderna), followed by vector (Astra Zeneka, J&J, Sputnjik V) and inactivated (Sinofarm and Sinovak) vaccines to all persons.
For people over 50 years of age, mRNA vaccines (Pfizer or Moderna) are particularly strongly recommended for immunization, while for people under 40 years of age preference should be given to the vaccine manufactured by Pfizer.
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