Efraín Luna Barrios, head of Medical Benefits of the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS), defended the application of vaccines against Covid-19 with an expired expiration date, since he assured that the drugs have a useful life after their expiration of 12 months under specific conditions.
The foregoing, after it was announced through social networks that the IMSS sent to the Huasteca Sur, the batch GA6772 of more than 50,000 vaccines with an expiration date of November 2022, from the pharmaceutical company Pfizer -pediatric, which would be applied to minors from 5 to 11 years of age.
In this regard, Luna Barrios reiterated that the vaccines can continue to be used after they have expired, as long as they are kept deep-frozen, which is at a temperature of minus 72 degrees Celsius.
“Once it leaves that temperature, it lasts more than 30 days outside that temperature within a range of 2 to 8 degrees Celsius,” he explained.
The specialist added that the immunological ones have the same effect during the indicated period, since the vaccines do not change their efficacy or efficiency, it remains practically the same for protection coverage against the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
“The fact that the duration of the drug elapses does not cause secondary reactions, the effects are as expected: they have fever, pain, and it does not generate major complications. The vaccine generates the expected efficacy and efficiency,” he concluded.
