HSE conducting audit of vaccine doses following concerns about waste

The HSE has started counting the remaining Janssen doses in mass vaccination centres, following concerns raised by a group of pharmacists about waste. File picture

The HSE has started counting the remaining Janssen doses in mass vaccination centres, following concerns raised by a group of pharmacists about waste.

The 15 pharmacists wrote to the HSE and Government warning that large volumes of Janssen vaccines "have already gone or are about to go out of date”. The audit is expected to be complete by the end of this week.

The HSE previously insisted the number of vaccines involved is not significant.

However, on Tuesday, a spokeswoman said, “These will be small in number, relative to the over 6.5m vaccines administered in Ireland.” 

She said vaccines from AstraZeneca and Janssen which are “close to expiry” are being recalled by the National Immunisation Office following advice limiting their use in Ireland.

The pharmacists, who all work in centres, had suggested using doses in local pharmacies, but were denied, they said.

The HSE spokeswoman also said because these vaccines had been taken out of the national cold chain storage centre that “they would not be eligible for distribution through the Covax programme or indeed through any future bi-lateral agreement with a third country”. 

Horrified at the waste

Pharmacists who signed the letter say they are horrified at the waste, having spent hours every day calling in people from standby lists to make sure every dose was used until now.

One said more than 200 Janssen doses were disposed of last week in the centre they work in, while another spoke of being resigned now to watching vaccines expire this week.

The HSE was unable to comment directly on these situations.

The group had hoped to inspire a change in policy so AstraZeneca vaccines which are valid until the end of October could be sent to countries with a lower rate of vaccination. 

The HSE spokeswoman said any doses which are still stored in the national cold chain centre may now be assessed for use elsewhere through the Covax system.

The process of identifying countries has begun, but she said there are “complex legal, indemnity and regulatory issues” around this.

A spokesman for the Irish Pharmacy Union said: “The IPU raised this issue with the HSE several weeks ago and the HSE outlined the reasons why the vaccines couldn't be redistributed.” 

However, the spokesman said there was “huge demand” for the Janssen vaccine with long waiting lists around the country.

“It's unfortunate that those vaccines couldn't, at that stage, have been allocated to pharmacies,” he said.

A number of pharmacists expressed frustration at the lack of urgency in dealing with this.