Nepal has not been able to show any management skills while subsidizing or purchasing any item related to health. We often have questions about the justification of purchasing health materials and equipment, suspicion of corruption.
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Even though the vaccines introduced during the covid epidemic have expired, they have been piled up as a burden due to the lack of a method to destroy them. The necessary process to destroy the vaccine has not even progressed. A committee should be formed to collect the bond before destroying the expired products, but the health service department has not even been able to form a committee to destroy the expired vaccines.
Nepal also does not have a separate technology to destroy large quantities of vaccines at once. The government has not been able to coordinate with the cement company, which is considered a reliable option to destroy the vaccine in the situation where the internal process has not progressed. Thus, it seems that the government's efforts to destroy expired vaccines are not efficient. It is the government's blunder not to prioritize this issue. It is important to find a way to destroy expired vaccines as soon as possible because they can be misused and can cause various problems.
40 lakh doses of covid vaccine worth one and a half billion rupees donated by China have expired in November and December 2080. It has not been managed even after 15 months. The 19 thousand 480 doses of covicild vaccine brought at that time have also expired.
Expired vaccines are kept in Teku's vaccine storage. Similarly, another 180,000 doses of Pfizer vaccine are expiring next September. Pfizer vaccine is in the "cold chain" of the province and some big hospitals. Not only the vaccine against Covid, according to the report of the Auditor General 2081, 44 lakh 95 thousand 192 doses of BCG, DPT, Measles, Polio, JE, TD vaccines were wasted in the financial year 2079/80. With the increasing amount of expired vaccines, it is clear that the issue of destroying them is becoming a challenge.
Because mercury and other chemicals are used to preserve the vaccine for a long time, if it is destroyed randomly, it can have immediate and long-term effects on human health. Therefore, national and international standards have been set for the destruction of vaccines. Which needs to be adopted.
Experts say that immersing the vaccine in a high temperature of 1200 degrees destroys the virus. A cement factory is considered the best option for this. On the other hand, the risk of misuse remains if expired vaccines are not destroyed immediately. Similarly, keeping unused vaccine in the future is also a burden from the point of view of management. For Nepal, which has limited storage capacity, this issue is more of a headache.
Mainly we lack modern technology to destroy vaccines. Although there is no problem in destroying small quantities of vaccines and medicines, it seems necessary to manage the technology of destroying large quantities of vaccines. Likewise, there is no coordination between government agencies. Although this problem exists in any region of Nepal, however, it is necessary to understand the sensitivity of the issue and increase coordination regarding the destruction of vaccines.
Similarly, Nepal has not been able to show any management skills while subsidizing or purchasing any items related to health. We often have questions about the justification of purchasing health materials and equipment, suspicion of corruption. There are problems such as goods are bought, stored unused, not kept safe, not regularly maintained. How much covid vaccine Nepal needs, how to deliver the received vaccine to the target group, how to prevent unnecessary vaccination is not seen. The current problem is also caused by the trend of hoarding as many vaccines as possible.
There is some internal and external experience in destroying expired vaccines. Especially cement factory should be used as the best option. In 2009, 40 million pentavalent vaccine used against diseases such as hepatitis B and tetanus was destroyed in the cement factory.
Experts say that the Covid vaccine can also be destroyed in the same way. The government also wants to destroy the government-owned Hetaunda cement industry. But the process could not go ahead. The factory was also closed. Government should coordinate with private cement companies. On the other hand, there is also the possibility that such vaccines can be sent back to the manufacturing company through the use of diplomatic channels. Any safe and popular method can be adopted, but this work should be a priority of the government.
