FILE PHOTO: Health Usec. Myrna Cabotaje. Screengrab from RTVM
About 2 million COVID-19 vaccines will expire in June this year if they remain unused, an official of the Department of Health (DOH) said on Friday.
But Health Undersecretary Myrna Cabotaje said at the Laging Handa briefing that the DOH had already submitted to the World Health Organization-led global initiative COVAX facility a “demand forecast” of 34 million doses as a replacement for expired or near-expiring vaccines.
“From the communication we received from COVAX, the replacement for vaccines includes vaccines from all sources,” she said.
This means COVAX would replace all expired vaccines regardless if it were donated by the facility or other countries.
Cabotaje, chair of the National Vaccination Operations Center, said that as of May 26, 69.1 million individuals in the country have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 while 73.7 million have been vaccinated with at least one dose.
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