Thousands of measles vaccines taken without authorization in Samoa and administered for a fee at unregistered clinics

Health officials in Samoa have begun an investigation after thousands of measles vaccines were taken without official authorization from the hospital and administered for a fee at unregistered clinics.

Newshub reports three clinics have been shut down after the discovery - and 6000 vaccines had to be destroyed because they were not being stored correctly at the suspect clinics.

It comes as the crisis only worsens in Samoa, with 25 now confirmed dead and hundreds of new patients overloading hospitals.

Vaccines from official sources in Samoa are available free of charge.

Samoa has vaccinated more than 17,000 people against measles in the past week.

A mass immunisation effort is underway in Samoa, where vaccination against measles has been made mandatory under law.

Since the outbreak started in October, there have been 2194 cases, with 144 of those reported since Sunday.

Source: Newshub / Radio NZ