Pre-register to avoid vaccine wastage – Concepcion

Go Negosyo founder Joey Concepcion has reiterated his proposal to pre-register vaccinees to avoid wasting the vaccines against COVID-19.

Concepcion made the call amid reports that the country wasted 31.3 million doses of COVID vaccines worth around P15.6 billion.

“It was bound to happen. We need to learn from this experience and start pre-registering those who are willing to be vaccinated,” he said.

In October, Concepcion wrote to Department of Health officer-in-charge Rosario Vergeire offering to provide the DOH with a list of employees from the private sector who are willing to be vaccinated.

The strategy, he stressed, is meant to ensure that the vaccines to be procured by the government will be used.

“Through this pre-registration, we will minimize wastage,” he said.

Meanwhile, Concepcion suggested that local government units also adopt the pre-registering scheme to see who among their residents are willing to be vaccinated and set “clear guidelines for vaccinations so we avoid delay and confusion.”

He explained that the Health Technology Assessment Council should just adopt the same guidelines as that of the country where the vaccines originated in order to avoid a repeat of the delays in decision-making that prevented the private sector from using millions of its procured vaccines, which eventually expired.

Further, Concepcion proposed that the national government allow private hospitals and other health care facilities to procure the vaccines, which they can then pass on at cost to those who are eligible. If done, the government could then direct its resources to helping those who are eligible but cannot afford the vaccines.

He noted that vaccines against COVID-19 have yet to become commercially available unless drug manufacturers secure a Certificate of Product Registration for their vaccines.

“I am glad that the DOH has been very receptive to suggestions from the private sector,” Concepcion said. “We are hoping that, moving forward, the private sector and government will continue to work together to finally bring this pandemic to a close.”