Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the expiry date was for the shipment of 299,520 doses of Astra Zeneca vaccine donated by the UK to Covax scheduled to touch down in Uganda on 18-19 August 2021.

These doses were delivered to COVAX with approximately two months’ shelf life, with an expiry of the end of September.

The UK, COVAX and AZ are working closely together and with international partners such as UNICEF to allocate vaccines according to need, facilitate the rapid delivery of doses and maximise the shelf life available to recipients. This includes the provision of regular forecasts to COVAX to assist planning. Doses are sent directly by AZ to UNICEF, rather than having to be processed by the UK Government.

Vaccines delivered by COVAX are distributed in line with the World Health Organisation's 'equitable allocation framework', which helps ensure COVAX doses reach those countries most in need. Recipient countries are informed of vaccine expiry dates, and doses are delivered in consultation with countries via COVAX to ensure they are ready and able to begin immediate roll out.