ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines — More than 2,500 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine that were downloaded for the government’s inoculation program in Zamboanga peninsula have reportedly expired, health officials said yesterday.
The wastage involved 2,570 doses that were not given or utilized for the intended target vaccinees, according to Mary Germeyn Punzalan, regional vaccination coordinator.
The vaccine doses, which expired on Nov. 30, were released and distributed during the last days of October, Punzalan said.
Local government units (LGUs) were given 10 days to use the vaccine.
The number of wasted vaccine doses is within the level set by the World Health Organization and Department of Health, according to DOH assistant regional director Augusto Manolo Alpichi.
“We had some near-expiry vaccines, but these were loaded down to the LGUs, which committed to utilize these before the shelf life ends,” Alpichi said.
Joshua Brillantes, chief of the regional health office, said the expired vaccines were sent back to the cold storage of the provincial government and would be retrieved by his office for accounting.