Provincial Health Officer Luisa Efren yesterday said while the vaccines administered by her office are not expired, they have in the past received measles vaccines from the Department of Health that were nearing their expiration dates.

We had to rush our immunization on a house-to-house basis so they could be administered before the vaccines were to expire, three months after their arrival, she said.

Efren said she also wrote the DOH Undersecretary Alexander Padilla informing him of the delayed delivery of the measles vaccines that were sent during the term of Secretary Manuel Dayrit.

Ideally vaccines and medicines should have an at least one year lifespan before expiration, she said.

She said she did not know why the DOH sends vaccines that are about to expire as its poses a problem for health workers in the field who have to then work against time to administer them.

A group of health workers yesterday called on Congress to investigate the spoilage of P25 million worth of medicine purchased by the Department of Health.

It is highly questionable that the DOH buys in bulk medicines that are about to expire, Emma Manuel, national president of the Alliance of Health Workers, said.

Senate President Franklin Drilon said he had received a report that P10 million worth of vaccines for measles had also expired in June.

Negros Occidental solons who are members of the House Committee on Health are Tranquilino Carmona (first district), Alfredo Marañon III (second district), Jose Carlos Lacson (third district) and Monico Puentevella (Bacolod).

Puentevella said they would look into the complaints of the health workers.*CPG

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