Poorer nations rejected over 100m Covid vaccine doses in Dec

Poorer nations last month rejected more than 100 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines distributed by the global programme COVAX, mainly due to their rapid expiry date, a UNICEF official said on Thursday.

"More than a 100 million have been rejected just in December alone," Etleva Kadilli, director of Supply Division at UN agency UNICEF told lawmakers at the European Parliament, reports Reuters

The main reason for rejection was the delivery of doses with a short shelf-life, she said.

Poorer nations have also been forced to delay supplies because they have insufficient storage facilities, Kadilli said, including a lack of fridges for vaccines.