Portion of Manitoba’s COVID-19 vaccines to expire by November

Manitoba currently has tens of thousands of COVID-19 vaccine doses available. However, thousands are set to expire in a matter of weeks.

According to the province, Manitoba had approximately 51,300 doses of COVID-19 vaccine on hand as of April 18, but the expiry date is coming soon for some of the stockpile.

“Approximately 17,800 doses will expire at various times by the end of 2023 ranging from end of April to November 2023, pending any further shelf life extensions from the manufacturers and approved by Health Canada,” a government spokesperson said in a prepared statement.

Despite the expiry, the spokesperson said that the province has “sufficient supply” on hand to manage an increase in demand.

“Additional supply is available from the supply that is held by the Government of Canada. It has plans to continue to order COVID-19 vaccines over the coming months that will be allocated and available for all jurisdictions, as needed,” the spokesperson said.

Currently, a bivalent booster is available for all adults 65 years old and older, along with First Nation, Métis and Inuit people 45 years old or older, residents in assisted living facilities and personal care homes and immunocompromised adults 18 years old or older. The spring booster should be administered six months after your last vaccine dose.

The province has said it anticipates there will be a campaign in the fall to encourage people to get a booster dose.