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Many countries in Africa are getting AstraZeneca vaccines through the Covax scheme Image caption: Many countries in Africa are getting AstraZeneca vaccines through the Covax scheme

The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Africa Centres for Disease Control (Africa CDC) are urging African countries not to destroy Covid-19 vaccines that have expired.

The WHO is asking countries on the continent to hold on to expired stock and wait for further guidance.

The call comes after Malawi and South Sudan said they would discard more than 70,000 doses of the AstraZeneca jab that were out of date.

The Africa CDC says it has spoken to the manufacturer and has been reassured the vaccines are still safe.

Many vaccines can be used up to 36 months after manufacture but, because Covid-19 jabs are so new, there is not enough data to prove their effectiveness over longer periods.

Whatever the guidance, the final decision rests with national drug regulators.

However, the issue will further increase the challenges around persuading people on the continent to get vaccinated.

The rollout of Covid-19 vaccines in Africa has been slow, partly because of supply issues and scepticism about the jab.

Out of 55 African countries, 41 have benefited from the delivery of vaccines via the global-sharing scheme Covax. Seven are yet to receive their first batch.