The Department of Health (DOH) failed to give the exact cost of the millions of doses of COVID-19 vaccines that were reportedly wasted.
During the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing, Dr. Ma. Joyce Ducusin, OIC-Director IV of the DOH Supply Chain Management Service, revealed 12.1 million doses of expired COVID-19 were reported by local government units (LGUs) and DOH Centers for Health Development (CHDs) in the regions.
Ducusin did not disclose the vaccine brands but clarified that the LGUs and CHDs failed to put the brands of the wasted vaccines in their reports.
The 12.1 million doses were included in the 44 million COVID-19 vaccines said to have been wasted and reportedly expired on December 2, 2022.
In response to further questioning from senators, Ducusin enumerated the following wasted vaccines: 1.4 million doses-Sinovac; 11 million doses-Astrazeneca; 1.7 million doses- Gamaleya; 2.5 million doses-Pfizer for adults; 669,548 doses-Pfizer for pedia; 11 million doses-Moderna; 3.3 million doses-Janssen; 1.3 million doses-Sinofarm; and 2.9 million doses-Sputnik.
Senator Francis Tolentino, chair of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, also inquired about the proper disposal of the expired doses of procured and donated COVID-19 vaccines, citing potential risks to public health and safety.
“Any discussions on this? What do we do with these? What do we do with these because environmentally, these might not be safe… how do you dispose? Susunugin, ibabaon sa lupa, itatapon sa Pacific Ocean?
Papano?” Tolentino said.
Tolentino also raised concern over the potential effects of not properly disposing the unused and expired COVID vaccines, considering that some types of vaccines were either “protein-based” or contains inactivated virus.
Former National Task Force (NTF) deputy chief implementer and Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) chair Vince Dizon told Tolentino’s panel that a facility inside the New Clark City in Tarlac Province will be the site where the unused-expired vaccines will be disposed.
But the senator has expressed doubts and hesitation over the supposed location of the disposal site, considering that the facility is just
few kilometers away from the ‘Athlete’s Village’ where several members of the Philippine national team are currently having their respective training for upcoming local and international sports tournaments.
Meanwhile, Tolentino asked the Office of the Solicitor General if they can see a little window on how the national government can ‘legally’ exchange the accumulated COVID-19 vaccines about to expire to another form of vaccine or medicine coming from the same pharmaceutical companies which can be utilized locally.