Over 20 million donated and purchased COVID-19 vaccines in the Philippines were wasted.
Health Undersecretary Carol Tanio said during the Senate Committee on Health demography hearing by Senator Bong Go that a total of 20,660,354 vaccines against COVID were wasted until this August 12.
Tanio explained that 6% of this was donated vaccine, local governments purchased 22%, and 40% was purchased by the private sector that had expired.
Department of Health (DOH) officer-in-charge Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire clarified that the 134 million vaccine doses purchased by the national government were not wasted.
According to him, only 8.42 percent of the vaccines against COVID-19 that arrived in the country were wasted, but this is still within the standard rate of 10% or less than that set by the World Health Organization.
Department of Health (DOH) officer-in-charge Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire clarified that the 134 million vaccine doses purchased by the national government were not wasted.
According to him, only 8.42 percent of the vaccines against COVID-19 that arrived in the country were wasted, but this is still within the standard rate of 10% or less than that set by the World Health Organization.
20.6 million COVID-19 vaccines wasted – DOH
It is said that there is a possibility that the Philippines will no longer receive free vaccines from the COVAX facility if it is proven that there was negligence in the wasted COVID-19 vaccines that have expired.
This is according to Dr. Maricar Limpin, immediate past president of the Philippine College of Physicians, at the same time as expressing support for the proposed investigation by some lawmakers on the leadership of the Department of Health (DOH) regarding the issue.
Earlier, former Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship Joey Concepcion said that the private sector’s P5.1 billion worth of COVID-19 vaccines has expired because the DOH’s guidelines for distributing the second booster were too late.
Opposition Senator Risa Hontiveros wants the Senate to investigate the estimated P5 billion to P13 billion worth of COVID-19 vaccines purchased by the government that was allegedly unused and expired.
The cost of the said COVID-19 vaccine is said to be in the range of P5 billion to P13 billion.
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