Despite the country's success in acquiring sufficient vaccine supply over the recent years, Senator Christopher Lawrence "Bong" Go said that more needs to be done to reach areas with low vaccination rates and prevent vaccines from being wasted.
The lawmaker reiterated his call to Filipinos to get their Covid-19 vaccinations and booster shots in order to prevent vaccine wastage, especially since both the public and private sectors had to spend money to acquire them. Some vaccines have also been received through donations.
According to the Department of Health, 165,516,940 vaccines have been administered in the country as of November 17. A total of 73,689,489 Filipinos have been fully vaccinated, with an additional 20,833,720 vaccines administered as booster shots.
However, the Health Department also reported that P15.6 billion worth of 31 million unused Covid-19 shots were wasted. Roughly 24 million doses never got used due to short shelf life according to the DoH.
Go also urged Filipinos not to be satisfied with just receiving initial vaccination shots as additional booster dose, once eligible, would likewise give them an additional layer of defense against Covid-19.
When asked if there should be accountability for the issue of vaccine wastage, Go said that, as the chair of the Senate Committee on Health, he is always in favor of transparency.
