Due to lack of information, only 17 individuals out of the 9,245 reported cases of serious adverse effects (SAE) from Covid-19 vaccines were able to file their claims with the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth), the Commission on Audit (COA) revealed.
In its audit of the Covid-19 funds, COA said that a total of 157,793,975 doses of Covid-19 vaccines was administered from March 2021 to July 2022. A total of 71,596,166 persons was fully vaccinated, while 16,032,142 others received booster shots, it said. A total of 9,245 individuals reported SAEs from the vaccines, it also said.
It noted that 17 out of the 9,245 individuals with SAEs filed their claims with PhilHealth for P1.166 million. The first claim was filed in September 2022, it said.
COA also said that only five regional offices reported claims, while the other 12 had zero cases.
By March 19, 2023, the Department of Health (DOH) reported that it had administered 179,046,746 doses of Covid-19 vaccines across all regions. "Conservatively computing for the suspected SAEs, pursuant to the Food and Drug Authority (FDA) report, there could be 10,74322 SAE cases to anticipate. However, per checking on the records in head office, between Jan. 1 to March 31, 2023, only eight claims amounting to P0.561 million were processed in addition to the claims in 2022," COA said.
While former President Rodrigo R. Duterte signed into law Republic Act No. 11525 or the Covid-19 Vaccination Act of 2021 on Feb. 26, 2021, the COA lamented that only a few people know about its provisions.
It said that RA 11525 provides for the establishment of the Covid-19 National Vaccine Indemnity Fund amounting to P500 million , which is to be administered by PhilHealth as a trust fund to compensate any person inoculated through the vaccination program in case of death, permanent disability, or confinement for any SAE.
PhilHealth uploaded Advisory No. 2021-039 on the COVID-19 Vaccine Injury Compensation Package and the Benefits under the National Health Insurance Program on Oct. 10, 2021. However, the COA said that there were no other indications of information dissemination, and unlike other PhilHealth advisories, there was no publication about it in a newspaper of general circulation, COA said.
"Further, the audit team noted that there was no publication of Tamang Sagot (TS) Gabay sa Tamang Pag-unawa sa PhilHealth Circular specifically outlined PC No. 2021-0007 which could have aided the public in obtaining a better understanding of PhilHealth’s policy on the program," it said.
"It is worthy of mention that the Board resolved to release the benefit directly to the beneficiaries. Unlike the PhilHealth benefit packages, which are filed by the health care institutions on behalf of the patients, claims under the fund will have to be filed by the beneficiaries themselves. Thus, it is necessary that the qualified beneficiaries are themselves informed of the benefit and the manner of filing," it added.
Thus, COA highlighted the need for a "robust" information dissemination campaign on the part of PhilHealth. With more communication with the public, especially those in areas where massive vaccination is conducted, the COA believes it would help in boosting the Covid-19 Vaccination Act of 2021.
"Consequently, there has been a notable lack of progress in achieving the objective of the law to provide compensation to individuals who have suffered SAEs as a result of vaccination. This is particularly concerning given that two years have already passed since the commencement of the Covid-19 National Vaccination Program," it lamented inits report.
COA then directed the PhilHealth Ad Hoc Committee, in coordination with the Information Management Sector, to initiate the necessary adjustments in the existing system for the processing and monitoring of Vaccine Injury Compensation Package (VICP) claims, and assess whether it is feasible to integrate the VICP processing and monitoring system into the existing information systems of PhilHealth.
"If integration is not feasible, consideration should be given to creating a new system specifically designed for VICP claims management," it stressed.