31.3 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines wasted, unused – Cayetano

MANILA, Philippines — About P15.6 billion worth of COVID-19 vaccines or 31.3 million doses were either wasted or not used, Sen. Pia Cayetano revealed during deliberations on the proposed 2023 budget for the Department of Health (DOH) last night.

Cayetano, who sponsored the DOH budget proposal, made the statement in response to queries by Sen. Risa Hontiveros on vaccine wastage, doses received, rate of vaccine wastage and estimate of wastage cost.

“The total wastage is 31.3 million and that is 12 percent of the total, which we will add is within the allowed percentage of wastage. But of course, this does not mean that just because it is in the allowed percentage DOH is not striving to improve that number,” Cayetano said after conferring with DOH officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire.

She noted that the country received a total of 250.38 million doses of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines.

Among the reasons cited for the wastage are expiration, short shelf life, damage due to natural disaster as well as damage due to temperature, discoloration and particulate or floating matters.

Even given these, Cayetano stressed that the amount of wasted vaccine is within the allowable wastage set by the World Health Organization, which increased it from 10 percent to 30 percent after many countries experienced some wastage partly due to vaccine hesitancy.

She added that the COVAX Facility had already replaced 300,000 doses of the total wastage.

Hontiveros said she hoped that lessons were learned to improve vaccination in the country and avoid the waste of money.

The proposed DOH budget, the third highest for next year at about P320 billion, includes the Office of the DOH Secretary, National Nutrition Council, Philippine National AIDS Council, Lung Center of the Philippines, National Kidney and Transplant Institute, PH Children’s Medical Center, Philippine Heart Center and Philippine Health Insurance Corp.