 |
| A resident receives a BioNtech Pfizer Covid-19 jab as a booster, at a vaccination center in Quezon city on January 27, 2022, amidst rising covid-19 infections in the capital driven by Omicron variant. (Photo by Maria Tan/ AFP) |
[Asia News = Reporter Reakkana] MANILA: The private sector has so far lost an estimated P5.1 billion from expired vaccines as the government dilly-dallied in expanding coverage for a second booster shot. Data released Wednesday by Go Negosyo, an entrepreneurship advocacy group, showed there are 4,252,830 expired coronavirus vaccine doses in private sector warehouses to date. Meanwhile, the final batch of AstraZeneca vaccines bought by private companies will expire on July 31, PhilStar reported.
The last of the Moderna vaccines expired last July 27. Of the total expired vaccines, 3,629,150 are Moderna vaccines, Go Negosyo reported. In a statement, Go Negosyo founder Joey Concepcion slammed the belated decision of the Department of Health (DOH) and the Health Technology Assessment Council (HTAC) to allow second COVID booster vaccinations for Filipinos 50 years and older, and for 18 to 49 year-olds with comorbidities. The HTAC advises the DOH on the health-related interventions to be funded by the government.
"The lack of urgency on the part of the HTAC and the DOH at which the vaccination advisories, policies, and implementation progressed caused the bulk disposal of these hard-earned COVID-19 vaccines," Concepcion said. The Philippines is now battling a renewed increase in cases, partly due to this increased mobility of the public, but also because of waning vaccine immunity amid a low boosting rate and the presence of fast-spreading coronavirus variants.
