₱13 Billion Worth of Vaccines Wasted, Senate to Launch a Probe

Senator Risa Hontiveros recently filed a resolution urging the Senate to probe into the millions of unused COVID-19 vaccine doses. The government continues to struggle in meeting its vaccination targets, especially in light of new variants emerging. Reports found that around ₱13 billion worth of vaccines has since expired.

“Of course, there are vaccines that we know will not be used for various reasons because there’s really a margin of error. But in this case, is this really just goodbye to billions of pesos?” explained Senator Hontiveros. “It seems that we’re throwing away money and vaccines in the face of fast-rising COVID-19 cases.”

From April to July, the government wasted 27 million vaccine doses that had gone past their expiry, cited the senator. “If we only knew that this would be the outcome, we should have given the funds to other sectors that are greatly affected by the pandemic, such as farmers, fishermen, drivers, and frontliners,” added Senator Hontiveros.

She has also called on officials from the current and previous administrations to devise relevant measures to mitigate similar circumstances from happening again. The government should, likewise, maintain effective enforcement throughout the entirety of its vaccination program. Senator Nancy Binay echoed similar sentiments.

“It’s regrettable. The money spent to buy the vaccines is no joke, especially since the pandemic has greatly affected the private sector,” elaborated Senator Binay. “Instead of helping to provide additional protection to our countrymen against COVID-19, it ended in nothing. The DoH and its advisers should increase communication with their international counterparts, especially those studying the effectiveness of the vaccine, to immediately know the latest results of their studies and focus on the expiration dates of the vaccine to avoid wasting it.”

Within the first 100 days of the Marcos administration, the government aims to administer 11 million to 23 million booster shots to fully vaccinated individuals. Senator Bong Go, chairman of the Senate committee on health and demography, also plans to conduct a hearing regarding the government’s COVID-19 response.

Sources: BusinessWorld, PhilStar