Palace: Over 3.7M wasted vaccine doses reported so far

A total of 3,760,983 doses have been recorded so far as COVID-19 vaccine wastage in the country, the Malacañang reported on Thursday.

At the Palace briefing, acting presidential spokesperson Martin Andanar presented the data coming from the Department of Health, saying that this is only 1.54% of the country’s total COVID-19 vaccine doses.

“Nasa 1.54% ng COVID-19 vaccines na binili ng national government ang masasabing wastage. Malayo ito sa 10% wastage rate ng World Health Organization,” he said.

(Around 1.54% of the COVID-19 vaccines procured by the national government were considered as wastage. This is far from the 10% wastage rate set by the World Health Organization.)

Among the reasons for wastage include under-dosed vials, exceeded shelf life, presence of particles, destruction by disasters like fire and typhoons.

Earlier, Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship Jose “Joey” Concepcion III warned that some 27 million doses are going to expire in three months if unused.

Meanwhile, Andanar encouraged the public to get vaccinated and follow health protocols amid the threat of a new coronavirus variant Omicron XE.

“Patuloy ang ginagawang pag-aaral sa XE bilang isang variant. Ang mahalaga ay sumunod sa minimum health standards, mag-mask, hugas, iwas, at magpabakuna,” he said.

(The study on XE as a coronavirus variant is ongoing. It is important to follow minimum health standards, wear face mask, wash hands, observe social distancing, and get vaccinated.) —LBG, GMA News