WITH the arrival of Covid-19 vaccines in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), the Department of Health (DOH) assured proper disposal of vials and syringes to be used in the vaccination process.
Dr. Ruby Constantino, regional director of DOH-CAR, said a third party was tasked to conduct proper waste disposal procedures on used Covid-19 health equipment.
"For this Covid-19 vaccine, we are going to practice the reverse logistics. All used vials and syringes used for the vaccination process that will be placed in safety collection boxes will be retrieved. Upon collection, these will be sent to all provincial health offices and then our third party logistics will be collecting these used vials and syringes for proper disposal," Constantino said.
DOH earlier signed a memorandum on the interim guidelines on the Management of Health Care Wastes Generated from Covid-19 Vaccination.
DOH Memorandum 2021-0031 stated that "to prevent and mitigate the spread of infection to populations, the Covid-19 immunization program will be rolled out by the Department of Health. A surge in the generation of healthcare wastes is foreseen in view of the vaccination activities. Hence, proper waste management practices should be observed to prevent further exposure of health workers and communities to infectious wastes as well as protect the environment from pollution."
The general guidelines of the memorandum states that all health care facilities involved in the Covid-19 vaccination should have a waste management plan to be observed and complied with accordingly.
All healthcare wastes generated in the Covid-19 vaccination activities will be categorized as hazardous wastes under the sub-classification infectious wastes; Appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE), i.e., closed shoes and shoe cover, apron, long- sleeved gown, gloves, mask, and googles/face shield, shall be used by the health care facility personnel designated in handling, collecting, and collecting the health care wastes from the Covid-19 vaccination.
Proper hand hygiene should also be observed, only personnel trained on health care waste risk and safety measures should be designated to handle wastes generated from the Covid-19 vaccination. The infectious and pharmaceutical health care wastes from the Covid-19 vaccination should be properly segregated from other wastes.
DOH warned the public to refrain from buying alleged Covid-19 vaccines that may be sold since these vaccines are not available in the market.
"We would like to inform the public if there will be individuals that may attempt to sell alleged Covid-19 vaccines since these vaccines are still not available in the market, in fact all the vaccines that we have at present and are being administered to our health workers are all donations," Constantino added.