DOH exec faces relief over spoiled vaccines

Malacañang has approved the sacking of a logistics official of the Department of Health (DOH) for gross negligence that led to the spoilage of P6.5 million worth of anti-polio vaccines in the government inventory.

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita approved the recommendation of the Presidential Anti-Graft Commission (PAGC) to dismiss Carolina Herradura, director for procurement and logistics service of the DOH, for gross negligence of duty and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service, which resulted in the spoilage of 70,384 vials of Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV).

Ermita, by authority of President Arroyo, signed the decision approving the dismissal of Herradura on March 26 with the corresponding penalties of cancellation of eligibility and forfeiture of leave credits. He was stripped of retirement benefits and permanently barred from government service.

Meantime, Duque assured yesterday that measures are now in effect to prevent wastage of vaccines used by the DOH in its immunization program.

Duque said that vaccines are now being kept at the cold storage of the DOH-run Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) in Alabang.

He noted that concerned personnel are also required to regularly "check stock level" to ensure that no vaccines are kept beyond their expiration date and they also make a "projection of the population to be immunized" to prevent an oversupply of vaccines.

He added the DOH will also be implementing the "first in, first out" policy so that the vaccines procured ahead will be used first.

The case against Herradura stemmed from the DOH Executive Committee Resolution referred by Duque to the PAGC recommending the filling of administrative case against Herradura.

"We cannot tolerate this kind of irresponsibility. Just because of gross negligence of an official, thousands of newly born infants were deprived of one of the most important vaccines that could prevent their possible hospitalization, or even save them from death and millions in government funds were put to waste," PAGC chairwoman Constancia de Guzman said.

The DOH team discovered that the vials were stored at the DOH-Quirino Memorial Medical Center Warehouse. The OPV exhibited discoloration and was covered with frozen ice at the bottom/inner portion of the stockpile inside the walk-in freezer.

Based on the investigation, the proximate cause of the spoilage was the leakage at the evaporator/expansion valve. The water dripping from the source affected the stored vaccines.

The investigative team also concluded that the following factors contributed to the spoilage of the vaccines: (1) overcrowding of stocks in the cold storage room causing temperature fluctuation; (2) over-stocking of the vaccines; (3) walk-in freezer has no shelves to properly stockpile the vaccines; (4) personnel assigned at the warehouse have no formal training on the proper handling and storage of OPV vaccines; (6) deviation from the "first in, first out" policy for the issuance of warehouse stock; (7) faulty system procedures for inventory of stocks and monitoring of deliveries of vaccines; and (8) poor management and lack of close supervision on the activities of warehouse personnel.

Herradura caused undue injury to the government by failing to discharge her duties as director and as chairwoman of the Logistics Sub-Committee of the National Immunization Committee, the PAGC said in a statement.

Herradura denied the charges against her and argued that while the Materials Management Division of DOH was under her overall supervision, she could not be held liable for the spoilage of the OPV vials for there were personnel who were directly responsible for the proper handling, adequate storing and timely distribution of the vaccines.

But the PAGC team did not accept the reasoning of Herradura and found her remiss in her duties and responsibilities.

"She was found guilty for directly violating Republic Act 6713 or the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees and Executive Order 292 for failing to ensure the proper handling and storage, adequate and timely distribution of the vaccines, plan, budget, order and distribute the vials and prepare and monitor the cold chain system necessary to support immunization activities," the PAGC said. – with Sheila Crisostomo