There are 334,000 doses of AstraZeneca (AZ) COVID-19 vaccines pre-ordered by the Bacolod City government under the Leonardia administration that have expired at the Department of Health central office cold storage facility in Metro Manila, Dr. Edwin Miraflor Jr. confirmed Friday, July 8.
Bacolod had ordered 650,000 AZ doses under its tripartite agreement with the Department of Health and the manufacturer, Miraflor, former City Health Office OIC, said.
Of the 650,000 doses ordered, 212,000 arrived in Bacolod City, he said.
Miraflor said that 334,000 of the remaining 438,000 doses stored at the DOH Central Office had expired, with another 104,000 set to expire on July 31.
The city government only has the capacity to use 20,000 doses of the 104,000 doses with expiry dates on July 31, Miraflor said.
The Emergency Use Authorization for the AZ vaccines in the Philippines is six months from date of manufacture, he said. The firm is asking the Food and Drug Administration to extend the EUA of its COVID-19 vaccines, Miraflor added.
When the vaccines for Bacolod arrived at the DOH Central Office in December, he said, it had been two months since they were manufactured, leaving only four months before they expired.
They informed us that they would deliver the vaccines in January, he said.
In December, the Bacolod City government had already vaccinated 93 percent of its target population against COVID-19 and still had vaccines from the national government. Its cold storage facility was still full, he said.
He said they did not agree to receive the near expiring vaccines pre-ordered by the city government because if they could not be used up, it would be in violation of Commission on Audit rules.
Miraflor said AZ should have delivered the vaccines in June or July of 2021 when the city did not have enough supply of vaccines.
The national government should have also informed the local government units not to buy a lot of vaccines as it was buying ample supply for distribution, Miraflor said.
He said that Bacolod and 37 other local government units that pre-ordered AZ vaccines are faced with the same dilemma of whether to pay for the vaccines or pass them on to the national government.
As far as he knows, the city government has paid about P65 million for the vaccines it ordered and still has a balance of about P80 million, Miraflor said.
The city government has already vaccinated 136.69 percent of its target population and 153.44 percent of its target senior citizens, the Department of Health reported on July 3.
Bacolod City Administrator Pacifico Maghari III said he has asked Miraflor to submit a written report on the city’s government pre-ordered AZ vaccines so they can decide what action to take.
Miraflor said he is urging unvaccinated residents and those who have not received their booster shots to avail of the vaccines now.
The remaining COVID-19 vaccines of the national government are expected to last only until October and November and it is not certain if the national government will order more.
He said residents in the future may have to buy their COVID-19 vaccines that will be made available commercially.
The COVID -19 cases in Bacolod City have slightly increased but those infected have mild symptoms or are asymptomatic, he added.
Bacolod City had 12 new COVID-19 cases Friday for a total of 103 active cases.*