Minister of Health Dr Christopher Tufton said that the ministry is prepared to dump expired vaccine doses to ensure the efficacy of the product.

Tufton made the statement as he sought to quell fears that expired doses could be used to inoculate Jamaicans.

“To understand why we are in the position we’re in given any particular vaccine batch is a function of how the vaccine is acquired. And we adjust our strategy to deal with the population while still holding very firm to ensuring efficacy of the vaccines,” said Tufton

“And there will come a point where they will have to dump some of the vaccines for all of these reasons, including hesitancy which is why we want Jamaicans to take-up once they have the offer as quick as possible, ” added Tufton.

Three hundred thousand doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine arrived in Jamaica in late July 2021.

The jabs were part of a larger donation of five million doses made by the UK government and made available through COVAX, the scheme to ensure equitable, global access to COVID-19 vaccines.