Abalos says management of vaccines ‘calculated’ amid expiration threat

Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) chairperson Benhur Abalos on Monday said that the management of COVID-19 vaccines is "calculated" amid concerns that some stored doses will soon expire.

At a Palace press briefing, Abalos noted that no doses of COVID-19 vaccine have expired so far.

He said that when a supply of vaccines arrives, the bulk are considered for first doses, while some doses would be set aside for the second shot.

If another supply comes, the doses initially saved for the second dose can be used for more recipients of the first dose. Then, the new reserve for the second dose will come from the new batch of the supply.

“Lahat po 'yan ay calculated sapagkat maramihan po ang mga bakunang darating sa mga susunod na araw,” Abalos said.

(All of that was calculated because more vaccine supplies are expected to arrive in bulk.)

According to Abalos, the private sectors will help the government in supply chain management of the COVID-19 vaccines.

Earlier, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said that there will be no wastage of the newly arrived two million doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, which are set to expire in June and July.

He said they are working with Abalos to achieve the daily inoculation target of 120,000 in the National Capital Region.

The National COVID-19 Vaccine Operations Center said that 1.5 million AstraZeneca doses will expire on June 30 and 525,000 doses will perish on July 31.

“We will make sure nothing will expire. It will all be jabbed, it will all be used for inoculating our A1 to complete the health care workers, the A2 for the senior citizens, and the adults with comorbidities,” Duque said.

The Health secretary said 525,600 of the two million AstraZeneca jabs will be used as a second dose for those who already got their first shots. The remaining vaccine will be used as first doses. — BM, GMA News