Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, in the context of the covid-19 vaccines donated to low income countries to date, how many and what proportion were due to expire within (a) one week, (b) two weeks, (c) three weeks and (d) four or more weeks from the date they were shipped from the UK.

The UK has committed to sharing 100 million doses by June 2022. 30 million of these will be donated by the end of 2021. To date, 10.6 million doses have been delivered to countries in need, and a further 10 million doses have been accepted by COVAX, to be delivered in the coming weeks.

For all bilateral donations, we have sought assurances from recipients that they have the capacity to roll out the quantity of doses offered in line with National Deployment and Vaccination Plans ahead of their expiry date. No UK donations have arrived with four weeks or less until their expiry date. We will always strive to donate with at least 2 months until expiry, as recommended by the World Health Organisation.