By Canadian Press

COVID-19 vaccines in national stockpile starting to expire as uptake slows

Apr 13, 2022 | 9:25 AM

OTTAWA — Health Canada says almost 1.5 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines held in a national inventory have expired since January.

That includes more than 420,000 doses of Moderna’s vaccine that expired on Tuesday.

The 1.5 million expired doses amount to less than two per cent of the 118 million doses delivered to Canada since December 2020.

There are more than 18 million doses in Canada’s national stockpile at the moment, the vast majority of which will expire in the next four months.

Health Canada says that until late last year, demand for vaccines was largely in line with supply so very few doses expired before they were used.

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Expired doses are not tossed immediately while Health Canada awaits word from the manufacturer about whether the expiration date can be extended.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 13, 2022.

The Canadian Press