UNLESS the Department of Health (DOH) can find new purposes for P152.12 million worth of specialized freezers used to store COVID-19 vaccines during the pandemic, they could all become idle by the latter part of this year.
In a 222-page Performance Audit Report released on December 23, 2024, the Commission on Audit revealed there is no continuity plan for the 243 ultra-low temperature freezers (ULFs) to put them in optimum usage for the rest of their remaining 10-year lifespans.
Repurposing the ULFs and other specialized equipment obtained in the fight against the COVID-19 virus is one of the centerpiece objectives listed by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in the COVID-19 Vaccine Operational Guidance dated February 1, 2022, promoting sustainability and contingency planning.
The audit team noted that President Marcos Jr. lifted the national public health emergency on July 1, 2023 based on the recommendation of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) due to the declining number of COVID-19 cases.
As of July 31, 2024, the DOH informed the audit team that there were 26.48 million doses of different brands of COVID-19 vaccines still in storage in ULFs, not counting additional doses from donations from international organizations as of late last year.
Auditors clarified that for fiscal year 2024, the DOH made no budget allocation for the procurement of COVID-19 vaccines.
Once the remaining vaccines reach their expiry dates and are disposed of, the freezers would have to be deactivated. Without immediate repurposing, they are at risk of rapid deterioration while idle.
In mid-2024, the DOH submitted the operational status of 269 ULFs wherein 224 were listed as operational and in good condition, 19 were non-operational but in good condition, and 26 were defective/no longer working.
“Without additional procurement of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines and after inoculation of the donation from GAVI is approved, the 19 ULFs will remain unused, as well as those that will be turned off once the remaining quarantined doses are disposed of,” the audit team said.
Auditors were informed by the DOH-Supply Chain Management Service (SCMS) that, as yet, there is no existing policy on the repurposing of the ULFs particularly those units purchased by the local government units.
However, the DOH has already listed potential destinations for the specialized freezers where they can be put to good use.
Among these are research laboratories like the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM), San Lazaro Hospital, and other medical research facilities that require cold storage for vaccines, enzymes, tissues, viruses/bacteria and other biological samples.
The DOH also recommended that some ULF units may be capable of recalibration to specific operating temperatures, which would make them ideal for storing temperature-controlled cancer drugs and other polymerase chain reaction detection kits.
Several would also have to be maintained at strategic locations even if they are kept empty to serve as standby storage for rapid deployment of vaccines requiring ultra-low temperature for future emergency needs.
“Considering that most developing countries have limited ultra-cold chain infrastructure, countries are encouraged to draft a transition plan which provides insight into how this ultra-cold chain capacity will be utilized—even outside of Expanded Program on Immunization—to mitigate the risk of the equipment being earmarked only for immunization and end up being underutilized,” the COA said.