WHO to replace wasted COVID-19 jabs, says DOH

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire (Senate PRIB Photo)

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines will receive at least 10.5 million COVID-19 vaccines that will be given in tranches starting December this year as part of the pledge by the World Health Organization (WHO)-led COVAX Facility to replace wasted stocks.

“Based on planning and estimation, what we initially asked from COVAX [as replacement] was 10.5 million doses. Included in our request was for these to be delivered by month, starting December, and then January, and then February,” said Maria Rosario Vergeire, officer in charge of the Department of Health (DOH), in a press briefing on Friday.

Vergeire noted that the requested amount of doses were based on the DOH’s projected demand for the end of this year and the first two months of 2023.

She added that not all of the expired doses would be replaced to prevent further wastage of COVID-19 jabs.

According to DOH estimates presented to the Senate committee on health last week, a total of 20,660,354 COVID-19 shots were identified as “wastage.” These include not just the doses that went past their shelf life, but also those found with particulate matter and whose vials were broken.

The country’s vaccine wastage rate was pegged at 8.42 percent for this month, still below the WHO standard of 10 percent. But this has consistently climbed from 4.7 percent in June and 6.6 percent in early August.

Sen. Risa Hontiveros sounded the alarm at the rate the wastage rate is going, saying the country might breach the WHO threshold in two months. She also told DOH officials not to downplay the number of wasted vaccines.

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