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| - Last Updated on September 4, 2024 by Nivedita
Quick Take
Several news websites have shared a viral video reporting the scene at a dumpsite in Abuja, showing a bulldozer crushing the packed Covid-19 vaccines. Referring to the post, some anti-vaxxer social media users have claimed that destroying vaccines is a very good example to follow. We fact-checked and found the claim to be Half true.
The Claim
A viral video published on social media websites shows up to one million Covid-19 vaccines got wasted in Nigeria. Referring to the video, a Twitter user wrote, “Nigeria is destroying over a million vaccines, these people are not stupid, this is a VERY good example to follow !”.
Another Twitter user wrote, “Nigeria destroys over 1 million vaccines. So…third world countries are the new destination or what??”.
Similar social posts containing the viral video can be seen here and here.
Fact Check
Did Nigeria destroy Covid-19 vaccines?
Yes. The viral video showing a bulldozer destroying Covid-19 vaccines in Abuja, Nigeria is authentic. The Nigerian government has also confirmed to destroy Covid-19 vaccines. However, the reason behind this act has been skewed by social media users to spread misinformation against the widespread use of the Covid-19 vaccination.
The destroyed vaccines were donated by western nations and had a short shelf-life. The vaccines could not be used because they were about to reach expiration. Multiple local news websites have confirmed the same reason in the news coverage.
The Nigerian National Primary Health Care Development Agency Executive Director Faisal Shuaib has told the media that the vaccines were destroyed in an attempt to rebuild faith among Nigerians in the country’s vaccination programme. Till date, Nigeria has administered almost 20,617,588 doses.
Another post on social media said that the Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison publicly announcing to halt the further trials of UQ-CSL v451 Covid-19 vaccines
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