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More than 4,500 doses of COVID-19 vaccines went to waste due to mishandling or other unforeseen accidents, the Department of Health (DOH) reported.

Health Undersecretary Myrna Cabotaje said the wastage is still relatively “low” compared to the number of vaccines distributed.

“Our wastage is very low. From March to August 20, we have accounted for only 4,528 total wastage in doses,” Cabotaje said during the House briefing on the proposed 2022 budget of the Department of Health.

“Overall, except for these published reports na nasunugan o nag-frozen yung mga vaccine, generally very careful at very well-managed yung ating cold chain for these vaccines,” she added.

Over 13.7 million individuals in the Philippines are now fully vaccinated against COVID-19, government data showed, as the country sees a renewed surge in COVID-19 cases due to the Delta variant.

According to government data released Tuesday, over 33 million COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered since August 29. Of this number, 19.3 million were provided as first jabs.