MANILA – The Department of Health (DOH) in the Philippines has responded to a recent audit report by the Commission on Audit (COA) concerning the expiration and underutilization of Covid-19 vaccines stored in their facilities. The DOH highlighted the unique challenges faced during the emergency rollout of the vaccination program, which lacked the extensive planning typical of routine immunization efforts.
The DOH emphasized that the urgency of the Covid-19 situation led the government, through the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID), to prioritize having an ample supply of vaccines available for Filipinos as quickly as possible. This decision was made in the context of global efforts to combat the virus.
The COA’s audit revealed that approximately PHP11 billion worth of drugs and medicines, including over 7 million vials of Covid-19 vaccines, had expired. Despite national efforts to procure vaccines for all, some local government units and private entities chose to acquire their own supplies, contributing to the surplus.
The DOH noted that the influx of vaccines was further increased by donations from the COVAX Facility and bilateral agreements. Globally, the scientific community had warned that vaccine wastage could reach up to 30% by April 2022, a situation mirrored in Australia where up to 7 million doses were wasted by October 2021 due to expiration and lack of demand.
The initial rush to produce vaccines led to a significant supply increase, but demand decreased as the Omicron variant, which caused milder symptoms, boosted natural immunity among the population. Public perception of Covid-19 shifted to view it more like seasonal flu, leading to lower uptake of booster shots.
The DOH is actively managing the disposal of the expired vaccines, with the COA acknowledging the efforts of the DOH’s disposal committee. The 2023 Annual Audit Report from COA recognizes that without an extension from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), disposal is the only viable option. The DOH plans to report the results of the disposal process to COA once completed, following government property disposal guidelines.
Furthermore, the DOH’s Health Emergency Management Bureau has developed new guidelines to manage logistics during emergencies, focusing on proper storage to prevent future wastage. Other DOH units are also implementing strategies to minimize or avoid similar issues in the future.