DOH: Private sector loaned 350K doses of near expiry Moderna vaccines to gov't

To avoid wastage, the private sector has loaned 356,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine nearing expiration to the government, the Department of Health (DOH) said Monday.

“So nagkaroon tayo ng policy… ‘Yung policy natin, ‘yung loaning ang tawag… ibig sabihin ang private sector can do this kind of arrangement with the national government,” Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said in a media briefing.

(We have a policy called loaning. This means that the private sector can make this kind of arrangement with the national government.)

“Kung meron po silang pinanghahawakan na mga bakuna na near expiry na, pwede nila ‘yan i-loan sa national governnment,” she added.

(If they have vaccines nearing expiration, they can loan that to the government.)

Once the private sector needs to vaccines, Vergeire said the Philippine government will replace and loan back the vaccines.

“Para lang hindi masayang ‘yung bakuna na hawak nila (This is so the vaccines will not be wasted),” she said.

Vergeire said the vaccines have been distributed to Calabarzon and Central Luzon.

The Philippines on Sunday reported 5,279 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the nationwide tally to 2,756,923 and active cases to 60,957.—AOL, GMA News