Bang Sue Grand Station's Central Vaccination Centre said on Friday that its Moderna vaccinations for Covid-19 have not expired and still have at least two more months of shelf life.

Dr Mingkwan Wichaidit, director of the Institute of Dermatology and director of the vaccination centre, made the remarks to allay people's concern after social media was abuzz with fake news claiming the centre was providing expired vaccines.

According to a viral post, a recipient of the Moderna vaccine at the centre expressed concern about its safety and efficacy after they noticed the expiry date on the vial was dated June.

Dr Mingkwan said the vaccine manufacturer announced in December it was extending the expiry date from seven to nine months.

She said the adjustment was in line with drug analysis standard requirements and would not affect the quality, safety or efficiency of the vaccine, and that the Thai Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the extended expiry date this January.

Dr Mingkwan led a group of reporters to see how Moderna vaccines are kept in frozen storage and tested before they are administered.

She said those batches of Moderna would instead expire in August after the shelf life extension, which also applies to the lots originally due to expire in July and August.

The director of the centre said every batch of vaccine provided by the centre is inspected and tested first. The centre's Moderna rollout is expected to wrap up by Aug 21.

Moderna jabs are allocated by the Department of Communicable Diseases, with some donated by private hospitals and overseas, she added.

According to Dr Mingkwan, the Moderna vaccine must be stored at minus 20-70C. Before administration it must be thawed and kept at 2-8C.

Since May 24 last year, the centre has administered 6.2 million doses of vaccines.

Source:
courtesy of BANGKOK POST

by POST REPORTERS

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