The Ministry of Health has just decided to extend the expiry dates of the Abdala Covid-19 vaccine to nine months.
Vietnam extends expiry dates of Abdala Covid-19 vaccine
The ministry announced on February 28 that the decision to extend the expiry dates of the Abdala Covid-19 vaccine from six months to nine months was made based on studies by local agencies.
This is the second Covid-19 vaccine to have expiry dates extended by the ministry after the Pfizer vaccine which also had its expiry date extended by three months to nine months.
The ministry claims that this extension won't affect the quality and effectiveness of the vaccines.
The Abdala Covid-19 vaccine was approved by the ministry for urgent use in Vietnam on October 8, 2021. The vaccine is being used for people aged between 19-65 who receive three doses with intervals of 14 days between each dose.
Earlier the Ministry of Health urged the completion of using the Abdala vaccine against Covid-19 in February.
The ministry recently sent a dispatch to authorities of 11 provinces on accelerating the use of the Cuban-made vaccine.
According to the ministry, five million doses of the vaccine were allocated to localities in October and November last year. However, as of January 28, 541,400 doses remained in localities.