Covid shots form bulk of P2.8-B fund

The Department of Health (DoH) has unreleased appropriations amounting to a whopping P2.83 billion, most of which was allotted to procure Covid-19 booster shots, the Commission on Audit (CoA) reported.

Audit findings revealed that a total of P2,792,970,000 was intended for the purchase of booster shots that was classified under maintenance and other operating expenses (MOOE) but had yet to be released by the DoH as of year-end 2023.

The DoH, however, attributed this to a sufficient stock of Covid-19 vaccines from both donations and the first batch of procurement, which covered the projected demand for boosters.

“Hence, the release of funds was no longer requested,” the audit report read.

Vaccine hesitancy and the lifting of the state of public health emergency in July 2023 were also key contributing factors.

“Emergency-use authorization from the FDA for the vaccines was lifted, hence the DoH could not procure the Covid-19 vaccines anymore,” it said.

“As there was no longer a demand for the vaccines, the DoH no longer used the P2.8 billion to procure vaccines,” it added.