BACOLOD CITY — About 1,462 vials or 14,620 doses of unused AstraZeneca vaccine expired in Negros Occidental.

This was confirmed by Provincial Administrator Atty. Rayfrando Diaz II, citing the data from Dr. Claudelia Pabillo, who is in-charge of the provincial cold room storage facility.

Diaz said that these vaccines were part of the 45,300 AstraZeneca vaccines that arrived in the province on Nov. 8 from the national government.

Diaz said the 14,620 doses had an expiration date of Nov. 30.

Thus, some local government units (LGUs) refused to accept these vaccines, he added.

“We want to use them (vaccines), we do not delay them, but we value more the vaccinees. We do not want to inject them vaccines that were near the expiration date as its potency decreases,” Diaz said.

Diaz said that it may possibly give the vaccinees and their families a false sense of security and protection.

“Both are important, but we value more the health and safety of the vaccinees,” he stressed.

Diaz noted that the expired vaccines were not part of the vaccines that were purchased by the provincial government.

He said they will wait for the advise of the Department of Health (DOH)-Western Visayas on the disposal of the expired vaccines.

Meanwhile, Diaz said the province exceeded the 150,000 target given by the regional DOH on the three-day national vaccination this week.

Diaz said that 207,000 Negrenses were inoculated within three days, but they are still waiting for the reports on the number of vaccinees of other LGUs.

“Negros Occidental has contributed a lot in the region in the vaccination program of the national government,” he said.

Diaz also noted that COVID-19 positive cases in the province drastically decreased, showing the effectiveness of the vaccination.