...in countless freezers, refrigerators and backrooms around the world, as millions of coronavirus vaccine doses, developed at record-breaking speeds, march toward expiration before they can be used. And as demand slows in wealthy nations like the Netherlands, more dust is gathering — and more doses are expiring.
Much of the world has yet to see enough doses to vaccinate even the most vulnerable. Across Africa, as of late last month, only 2.2 percent of people had received at least one dose, while the Netherlands had vaccinated well over half of its population. The Dutch government, which owns the doses, has said that for legal and logistical reasons they cannot be exported, despite criticism from Dutch doctors.
While vaccination programs always have some waste, even standard levels mean mind-boggling numbers of unused doses at the scale of global coronavirus vaccination. But just how many doses have already expired, or are about to, is unclear. ...
