Hontiveros seeks probe into P5B to P13B worth of COVID-19 vaccine wastage

Opposition Senator Risa Hontiveros is seeking a Senate investigation into the estimated P5 billion to P13 billion worth of unused and expired COVID-19 vaccines procured by the national government.

At a press conference, Hontiveros said she filed a resolution asking for a probe into the "large-scale" wastage of COVID-19 vaccines, which she said "should never be tolerated."

Citing several reports, Hontiveros said between April and July, around 4 million to 24 million unused and expired COVID-19 vaccines are bound to be thrown away.

This, she said, amounts to around P5 billion to P13 billion.

"Of course, may mga vaccines na alam nating hindi magagamit dahil sa iba’t ibang dahilan. May margin of error naman talaga. But in this case, goodbye agad sa halagang bilyun-bilyong piso? Mukhang magtatapon tayo ng pera at bakuna sa kabila ng mabilis na namang pagtaas ng mga COVID-19 cases," she said.

In filing the resolution, the senator said the aim of an investigation is to determine if the government failed or lacked in the planning or procurement of the vaccine doses.

She emphasized that the resources used for the acquisition of these vaccines could have been given to sectors that are seeking aid from the government such as farmers, fisherfolks, drivers, and frontliners.

"Palaging inaanunsyo na ang dami-dami na nating bakuna, pero hindi naman sa procurement natatapos ang kwento. Baka naman may oversupply na tayo kaya may hindi nagagamit at nasasayang. 'Wag naman sanang ipangalandakan na dinaig pa nila si Asyong Aksaya. Dapat may managot dito," Hontiveros said.

Asked who should be held accountable for this wastage, Hontiveros said the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases, the Department of Health, and the czars during the Duterte administration.

"Siyempre pangunahin na dapat tanungin kapag dininig itong resolusyon ay ang IATF, pangunahin ang DOH, at siguro ang mga czar natin," she said.

GMA News Online has reached out to former vaccine czar Carlito Galvez, Jr. and Department of Health officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire for comment but they have yet to reply as of posting time.

Senate health and demography committee chairman Christopher "Bong" Go said he would immediately conduct a hearing on the status of the COVID-19 response, including the reported unused vaccines, once the resolution is referred to his panel.

He likewise urged the national government as well as the local government units to step up efforts to encourage all Filipinos to get booster shots.

"Hanggang nandiyan pa ang COVID-19, huwag tayong magkumpiyansa dahil delikado pa. Ang bakuna ang susi para makabalik tayo sa normal na pamumuhay," he said.

Senator Imee Marcos said that since there would not be enough time for a legislative investigation, the Senate should instead communicate its concerns to the Executive Department.

"Sa palagay ko manawagan muna tayo. Wala nang time mag-imbestiga," she said in an interview with reporters.

She then asked the DOH to make booster shots available to all sectors.

"Ako'y nananawagan sa DOH na agad-agad payagan ang ating mga booster at vaccine. Alam natin na nung July 27 lahat ng Moderna nag-expire nakakaiyak naman. Sayang na sayang," she said.

"Pwede ba DOH buksan na ninyo sa lahat ng sektor. Wala ng prio-priority. Ang natitirang vaccine na lamang e yung Pfizer. Wag naman natin sayangin... Pwede ba unahin na natin kung sino ang may gusto magpabooster hayaan na natin sila kaysa yung P5 billion magiging P6 billion, P7 billion ang sinayang nating pera diyan sa mga vaccines," she added.

Senator Nancy Binay shared her colleagues' sentiments, saying reports regarding expired vaccines were "regrettable."

"Nakapanghihinayang. Hindi kasi biro ang perang ginasta upang bilhin ang mga vaccine, lalo na at lubhang naapektuhan ng pandemya ang pribadong sektor," she said.

"Imbes na nakatulong sana upang mabigyan ng karagdagang proteksyon ang ating mga kababayan kontra COVID-19 ay nauwi ito sa wala," she added.

Binay asked the DOH and its advisers to coordinate with their international counterparts, especially those who are conducting research on the efficacy of vaccines, to get updates on their new studies.

She also urged the authorities to pay attention to the expiry dates of the vaccines so they would not go to waste.

Go Negosyo founder and former Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship Joey Concepcion earlier said 3.6 million doses of Moderna vaccines had expired on July 27 while 623,000 AstraZeneca doses were set to expire on July 31.

This accounts for a total of 4.2 million vaccines, which he said are worth around P5.1 billion.

Concepcion said the inability of the private sector to administer the doses on time was due to the delay in the Health Technology Assessment Council's (HTAC) approval of the second booster vaccination for Filipinos aged 50 years and older and for adults with comorbidities.

DOH Infectious and Tropical Disease Section chief Dr. Anna Ong-Lim, however, refuted that the vaccines expired because the second booster rollout was just recently approved.

She said the issue stemmed from the "gaps" in the rollout of the primary vaccine series and first and booster doses, and these needed to be addressed instead.

HTAC also said it had not delayed any vaccine rollout and pointed to the low vaccination rate for "first boosters."

"The HTAC has not delayed any rollout to date. In fact, it released its recommendation on first booster doses on 03 November 2021, followed by second boosters on 28 April 2022," the HTAC said.

"Unfortunately, there has been low uptake of first boosters," it added.

The HTAC said that as of June 20, 2022, the uptake of first booster doses is the following for the different priority groups: 53.23% for A1, 32.93% for EA1, 25.63% for A2, 26.09% for A3, 3.99% for EA3, 18.52% for A4, 10.52% for A5, and 21.49% for the rest of the adult population.

DOH alternate spokesperson Undersecretary Beverly Ho also said that the agency is now coordinating with the COVAX facility to determine if these expiring vaccine doses from the private sector could also be replaced.

Instead of pointing blame, Ho said concerned sectors must instead work to support the government’s PinasLakas campaign that aims to administer booster shots to 50% of the country's eligible population or 23.8 million Filipinos within the next three months. —AOL/VBL, GMA News