The total number of Covid-19 vaccines that expired and were wasted due to calamities only amounts to less than 2 percent of the more than 244 million doses the country has in stock.
In an online media forum, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire noted that the amount is “lower than the 10 percent the World Health Organization” has given as a standard for vaccination wastage all over the globe.
Some Covid-19 vaccines were not used due to the presence of contaminants or precipitation upon opening, Vergeire said.
As for the donation of near expiry jabs, Vergeire disclosed the government is still coordinating with the concerned countries.
“Definitely itong sa Myanmar ay ongoing na po ang negotiations. Sa Papua New Guinea, hindi pa po nauumpisahan ang pakikipag usap, isa lang po sya sa mga proposed na countries na pwedeng pagbigyan ng ating mga bakuna (The negotiations with Myanmar is definitely ongoing. Talks with Papua New Guinea have not started, Papua New Guinea is just one of the proposed countries to which we could donate vaccines),” she said.
The government intends to donate five million doses of Sputnik V – Components 1 and 2 – to Myanmar.
The National Task Force Against Covid-19 said nearly 145 million Covid-19 vaccines have been administered nationwide as of April 18.
