MORE than P590 million worth of vaccines intended for the government’s National Immunization Program went to waste in 2025, according to Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian, citing data from the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM 2).

Gatchalian raised the concern during the Senate Committee on Finance hearing on the proposed 2027 budget of the Department of Health (DOH) and its attached agencies.

Citing EDCOM 2 data, Gatchalian said 62.41 percent, or P4.93 billion, of the P7.9-billion National Immunization Program budget in 2025 was allocated for seven vaccines needed during the first 1,000 days of a child’s life.

However, the wastage of these vaccines amounted to around P590.3 million.

Gatchalian also noted that despite the substantial allocation, immunization coverage in 2025 reached only 65 percent.

He said the vaccines that went to waste could have been used to protect more children from vaccine-preventable diseases.

Gatchalian further said that if vaccines worth around half a billion pesos had been administered to children, immunization coverage could have reached between 70 and 80 percent.

Health Secretary Edwin Mercado, for his part, assured the Senate finance panel that the department would maximize PhilHealth’s Yaman ng Kalusugan (YAKAP) clinics to help boost the country’s vaccination rate.