BY GILBERT P. BAYORAN
The expired COVID-19 vaccines are still being kept at a storage facility, pending issuance of further instructions from the Department of Health regional office, disclosed yesterday by Dr. Claudelia Josefa Pabillo, who is the Negros Occidental designated cold chain coordinator.
There is a possibility that it could still be used, Pabillo said, adding that its shell life could be extended for three months.
But it will depend on the issuance of EUA (Emergency Use Authority) by the Food and Drug Administration, she added.
Pabillo earlier disclosed that some local government units in Negros Occidental preferred not to use the near-expiry AstraZeneca vaccines, as they are campaigning for vaccination.
A total of 14,620 shots of non-utilized vaccines form part of the near-expiry 45,300 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine that arrived in Negros Occidental on November 8.
National Task Force Against COVID-19 medical adviser Dr. Ted Herbosa earlier said that some LGUs units would have to explain the spoilage of “a few hundred doses” of AstraZeneca vaccine that expired on November 30.
Pabillo debunked claims that the undistributed vaccines are not yet considered waste.
“We are waiting for the instruction of the DOH Central Office,” she added.*
