More news about how the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines is being handled by the public and the government.
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| https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2024/12/05/2405095/doh-flagged-over-p112-billionexpired-drugs-covid-19-vax |
The Commission on Audit (COA) has flagged the Department of Health (DOH) over P11.2 billion worth of medicines, medical supplies as well as COVID-19 vaccines found expired in its warehouses and health facilities last year.
“Drugs, medicines and medical supplies amounting to P11,186,368,902.47, which include 7,035,161 vials of COVID-19 vaccines, expired in the DOH warehouses and health facilities without being utilized due to inadequate procurement planning and poor distribution and monitoring systems, which resulted in wastage of government funds and resources,” the COA said in its 2023 annual audit report on the DOH.
The audit body said this was on top of P65.444 million in “nearly expiring inventories” found “unutilized and undistributed” in DOH offices and health facilities as of Dec. 31 last year.
State auditors noted that these nearly expiring drugs and medicines, which remained under the DOH inventories, have a shelf life of less than one year, thus exposing government funds to another possible wastage.
The audit breakdown showed that the DOH Central Office (CO) was responsible for the bulk of the expired inventories amounting to P11.1 billion, composed of 6,754,724 vials of expired COVID-19 vaccines and 24,539 bags of donated dialysis solution.
As for the expired COVID-19 vaccines under the DOH CO’s custody, 5,428,915 vials were procured by the government while 1,325,809 vials were received as donations.
The COA said the expiration of these huge sums of vaccines exposed the DOH’s “inability to safeguard, manage and utilize health funds and resources economically and effectively.”
“Further, this condition had entailed storage and manpower costs, which could have aided the government in rendering other priority services,” the COA added.
As for the expired dialysis solution bags, the audit body noted that the items were still received by the DOH CO even if they have less than one and a half years “before expiration,” also referred to as shelf life.
As a result, most of the intended recipient hospitals and facilities refused to accept the items due to “lack of storage space” and because they can no longer utilize the solutions, according to the COA.
It said this contravened the DOH’s own guidelines, under its Administrative Order 9-B series of 1998, which states that for the acceptance of drugs, medicines, reagents and other medical supplies, the expiration date “should not be less than two years from the date of manufacture and not less than one and a half years from the date of delivery.”
Other health facilities identified in the audit report with expired inventories were the Dr. Jose N. Rodriguez Memorial Hospital and Sanitarium in Caloocan City amounting to P15.974 million; Davao Center for Health Development (P5.272 million); the DOH’s Center for Health Development I (P5.245 million); Region II Trauma and Medical Center in Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya (P4.989 million); Ilocos Training and Regional Medical Center in La Union (P4.678 million); Southern Isabela Medical Center in Santiago, Isabela (P3.243 million); Mariano Marcos Memorial Hospital and Medical Center in Ilocos Norte (P2.667 million); Valenzuela Medical Center (P1.755 million); Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital in Bacolod City (P1.463 million) and Region 1 Medical Center in Dagupan, Pangasinan (P716,738).
The COA said the expiration of these huge sums of vaccines exposed the DOH’s “inability to safeguard, manage and utilize health funds and resources economically and effectively.” An incompetent government bureaucracy? How shocking.
The DOH defended themselves by saying "It was an emergency."
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| https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/2012817/doh-defends-purchase-of-wasted-covid-19-vaccines-it-was-an-emergency |
The Department of Health (DOH) defended on Thursday the procurement of millions of doses of COVID-19 vaccines that eventually went to waste, saying it was done to save lives during a global emergency.
“The COVID-19 vaccination exercise did not have the benefit of years of planning and preparation like other routine and established vaccination programs. It was an emergency, a matter of life and death,” the DOH said in a statement.
When the pandemic struck, the Philippines, like other countries at the time, “decided to procure more COVID-19 vaccines available for all Filipinos at the soonest possible time, than none at all,” it added.
“Even as the national government advised all concerned that it would be procuring for all Filipinos, some local government units and private sector entities insisted on procuring their own vaccines,” the DOH said.
In addition, the country also received millions of vaccine donations from the Covax facility and bilateral channels (i.e., country-to-country), it noted.
The DOH statement was in reaction to a Commission on Audit (COA) report that flagged the agency for wasting over P11 billion worth of drugs, medicines and medical supplies, including over seven million vials of COVID-19 vaccines, that expired in 2023.
That does not explain other expired drugs. In fact it does not explain anything. But it does further reveal their incompetence.
Rep. Janet Garin says the issue is weak leadership with in the DOH.
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| https://mb.com.ph/2024/12/8/garin-blames-duterte-era-doh-chief |
The Department of Health (DOH) chief during the previous Duterte administration is to blame for the unutilized expired vaccines that cost billions of pesos.
Thus, said House Deputy Majority Leader Iloilo 1st district Rep. Janette Garin, who didn't mention any names.
(What took place and what COA found out was the result of weak leadership at the DOH during the previous administration.)
COA earlier released a report that over P11 billion worth of unused drugs, medicines, and medical supplies were left to expire. This included 7,035,161 vials of life-saving Covid-19 vaccines.
(It's the obligation of the program director, whoever that may be, to tap the vaccines for use once they are bought and to monitor it.)
The lady solon reckoned that program directors who cannot properly monitor and distribute these medical resources should be removed from their post.
(The implementing department of the DOH must have accountability with it. There should be close coordination on the immediate use of medicines upon purchase, so as to avoid the rush to implement the program when they are already nearing expiration.)
Previously, Garin questioned incumbent DOH Secretary Ted Herbosa for the lack of vaccines, which led to the death of some individuals.
(A lot people are now dying of pertussis, and yet you're always stocked out of the vaccine. A lots of people should be dewormed, and yet you have a lot of expired praziquantel. You purchase a lot of medicines but end up burying them because they end up expired.)
In 2023, the COA also reported that DOH’s stock of medicines and other inventories amounted to P7.43 billion. This amount included medicines that were damaged, nearing their expiration date, or have already expired.
It's just another peek behind the curtain at this corrupt agency.
President Marcos wants the World Health Organization to help the Philippines learn post-pandemic lessons.
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| https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2024/12/08/2405755/marcos-seeks-who-help-philippines-health-system-improvement |
President Marcos seeks increased collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) in improving the country’s health system after the COVID-19 pandemic.
He told WHO regional director for the Western Pacific Dr. Saia Ma’u Piukala, who paid a courtesy call on Marcos at Malacañang on Friday, that the country is doing all it can to improve the health system of the country post-COVID-19.
“I’m sure (Health) Secretary Ted (Herbosa) has explained to you what the Philippines has been trying to do, especially post-pandemic lessons learned. So, whatever guidance that the WHO can provide us is something that we will certainly welcome,” Marcos said.
Piukala, who assumed office on Feb. 1, leads the WHO Western Pacific regional office in its work with governments and partners across the region to enhance their health outcomes and ensure the safety of the region’s population.
The Marcos administration is pushing for the passage of a bill seeking to establish the Virology and Vaccine Institute of the Philippines to allow the country to respond more quickly to emerging diseases.
The measure was approved on third and final reading by the House of Representatives in December 2022. The Senate has yet to pass a counterpart measure.
The emergence of SARS-CoV-2, a novel strain of coronavirus that first appeared in 2019, brought attention to the necessity for virology research and development capabilities in the country.
Surely The WHO can sort out the DOH. Right?
A preist-scientist has been recognised for his research that shaped the country’s vaccine distribution strategy during the Covid-19 pandemic.
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| https://varsitarian.net/sci-tech/20241210/usts-austriaco-feted-for-covid-19-vaccine-research-that-shaped-govt-rollout-strategy-ust |
A THOMASIAN priest-scientist has been recognized by the National Research Council of the Philippines (NRCP) for his research that shaped the country’s vaccine distribution strategy during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Fr. Nicanor Austriaco, O.P., a biological sciences and sacred theology professor at UST, received the 2024 NRCP Gabay Award, which honors council members whose “research works have resulted or translated to adopted technologies and policies; or have informed local and national policy-making.”
His vaccine distribution study used mathematical modeling to incorporate vaccination rates and predict outcomes of various strategies, influencing the Philippines’ vaccine allocation approach during the pandemic.
“Here in the Philippines, my research team and I were able to do mathematical modeling to try to help our government figure out the best strategy to implement with regards to vaccine distribution,” he told the Varsitarian.
It found that more than 80% of vaccine supply should be allocated to Metro Manila and neighboring provinces to maximize limited vaccine resources. These areas were identified as the most populous and highest-density zones, making them high-risk for virus transmission.
The Department of Health (DOH) adopted the model in 2021 as its framework for vaccine distribution and called the cluster of regions “NCR Plus 8.” The strategy prioritized Metro Manila, Bulacan, Rizal, Cavite, Laguna, Pampanga, Metro Cebu, and Metro Davao.
According to Austriaco, the research exemplified “science for the poor, science for the people, (and) science for the Philippine nation.”
“Science is hard, especially during the pandemic, but with God’s grace, people were willing to work with each other to try to find innovative and creative solutions to help our kababayan, especially our poorest kababayan,” Austriaco said.
Other scientists from the University of the Philippines Diliman and Providence College in Rhode Island, USA co-wrote the study.
Austriaco was a fellow of the OCTA Research Team, an independent advisory group that began studying the pandemic in April 2020 using data from the DOH. The group provided projections on Covid-19 cases, offered recommendations regarding the government’s community quarantine measures, and conducted opinion poll surveys.
Austriaco also gained attention during the pandemic for his “Project Pag-asa,” which focused on exploring the potential of yeast as a more cost-effective and efficient vaccine delivery system.
The award was given to Austriaco during the NRCP’s 91st general assembly and annual scientific conference on Dec. 6 at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay.
His research is useless if the DOH allows vaccines to go to waste.
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