Covid-19 vaccine doses worth RM505mil expired as of June 1, PAC says

PETALING JAYA: A total of 8.5 million Covid-19 vaccine doses worth RM505mil have expired as of June 1, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) report on the management of the Covid-19 outbreak has revealed.

The Health Ministry had procured vaccines based on its projections on the number of doses needed but decreased demand for vaccination, delay in receiving vaccines and vaccines donated by foreign countries had led to an excess, the PAC found.

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The total projected vaccine requirement was 83.3mil doses, of which a total of 72.8 million doses had been used, which was 88% of the projection.

“Although the expiration date was extended up to 18 months from the date the Covid-19 vaccine was produced… 8.5 million vaccine doses worth RM505mil have expired as of June 1, 2023,” it said in its report.

The PAC added in the report, released on the official Parliament website on Monday (Oct 30), that 850,000 units of personal protective equipment (PPE) boot covers worth RM927,000 due to expire at the end of 2024 are at risk of being wasted if they remain unused before the expiry date.

It said this in its investigation on expired vaccines, defective ventilators and excess PPE under the Health Ministry.

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The PAC in its recommendations said that the Health Ministry must ensure that the excess PPE is used before the expiry date.

It also said the government must play a role in ensuring that local industry is able to produce medical equipment and pharmaceuticals to avoid dependence on foreign countries in empowering the public healthcare system.