(Sa nag-expire na COVID-19 vaccines)P5.1-B NAWALA SA PRIVATE SECTOR

Kinondena ni Concepcion ang “belated decision” ng Department of Health (DOH) at ng Health Technology Assessment Council (HTAC) na payagan ang second booster vaccinations para mga may edad 50 pataas at sa 18-49-anyos na may comorbidities.

Ayon kay Concepcion, ang final batch ng AstraZeneca vaccines ay mag-e-expire sa July 31, habang ang huling Moderna vaccines ay nag-expire kahapon, July 27. Aniya, mula sa kabuuan, 3,629,150 ang Moderna vaccines. Nangangahulugan ito na Pfizer vaccines na lamang ang natira para sa first at second boosters.

“The lack of urgency on the part of the HTAC and the DOH at which the vaccination advisories, policies, and implementation progressed caused the bulk disposal of these hard-earned Covid-19 vaccines,” sabi ni Concepcion, at idinagdag na marami pang bakuna na pagmamay-ari ng gobyerno ang maaaring nag-expire na rin.

Sa ilalim ng tripartite agreement sa vaccine procurement, mapupunta sa pamahalaan ang kalahati sa mga bakuna na binili ng pribadong sektor.

Noon pang Abril nanawagan si Concepcion sa pamahalaan na payagan na ang second booster vaccinations para hindi masayang ang mga biniling bakuna.

“We first sounded the alarm about low booster uptake in March, and about the expiring vaccines in early April. This could have easily been prevented had the HTAC simply listened and learned from the guidance of the CDC back in March when it recommended additional boosters for those as young as 50 years old,” sabi ni Concepcion.

“The expiry dates of these vaccines have already been extended and there is nothing more that can be done but to accept this preventable loss.”