NextGen Day

The public was reassured on Thursday by the Department of Health (DOH) that the outdated coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) vaccines were disposed of safely.

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The DOH official in charge Maria Rosario Vergeire stated that the Covid-19 vaccinations kept in the warehouses are “non-live” during a Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing.

Since all of these vaccines’ components, including mRNA, had been altered, she said that there was a very small chance that they could transmit this type of infection even after they were buried.

According to Vergeire, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources guidelines ensure the proper handling, disposal, and storage of vaccines (DENR).

Gerry Saes, director of hazardous waste management for the DENR Environmental Management Bureau, said that the vaccinations undergo pyrolysis-based thermal breakdown.

Without interacting with oxygen or any other oxidants, pyrolysis is the process by which a vaccination undergoes heat decomposition into smaller volatile molecules. At high temperatures, the materials begin to decompose.

Integrated Waste Management Inc. in Barangay Aguado, Trece Martires, Cavite, conducts this procedure.

“This gaseous component eventually turns into char and ashes. After that, it is put in drums and hermetically sealed. Then it is taken to the Tarlac landfill, which is also a recognized landfill, Vergeire added.

There are no “gaps” in the process, she noted, so the nearby villages won’t be impacted.

By the end of March, 50.74 million Covid-19 vaccines may have been wasted, according to Vergeire. 44 million doses of the total have already expired, and 6.74 million more will do so by the end of this month.

A total of 6,955,350 doses are in quarantine because they are about to expire.

She added, “We are still awaiting word from the producers and the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) on whether or not these (vaccines in quarantine) can get an extension of the shelf life.

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