The pandemic has posed a state of public health emergency as it caused continuous increase of COVID-19 cases. Measures have been strategically implemented to contain and manage the spread of infection to the population, to which vaccination has been regarded as one of the tools to decrease the spread, critical and serious cases, and death.Equally important to vaccination is the proper management of COVID-19 vaccine wastes such as segregation, on-site collection and transport, onsite storage, offsite transport, and disposal of hazardous and infectious wastes from the roll-out of the vaccination program. In support to this plight, the Department of Health proactively acted to ensure that health care wastes generated form COVID-19 vaccination activities in all health care facilities involved are managed.
DOH CHD-1 deliberately looks into the implementation of appropriate quality standards in handling waste produce of the COVID-19 Vaccination Program. All health care wastes generated in the COVID-19 activities are categorized and treated as hazardous wastes under the sub-classification infectious wastes. Personnel handling the vaccine waste management have been trained on Health Care Waste Risk and Safety Measures.
The health facilities though does not only handle hazardous and infectious wastes from COVID-19 vaccines, so other infectious and pharmaceutical health care wastes form COVID-19 vaccines are properly segregated and labeled from other wastes.The classified wastes generated from COVID-19 vaccines include empty vaccine vials, syringes/sharps, PPEs, cottons, tissues, and other materials which had contact with patients. The health care personnel and waste handlers take the responsibility to segregate and label the wastes properly.
After vaccination, where do the used materials go?
Sharps such as syringes and needles are placed in safety collector boxes for temporary on-site storage while empty vaccine vials are placed in resealable bags.
Each bag contains 20 empty vials for accounting purposes. Then, safety collector boxes and resealable bags with empty vials are placed in yellow bag containers. Yellow bag containers are tagged as “containing hazardous and infectious wastes”.
DOH CHD-1 maintains a healthcare wastes storage facility in Brgy Sevilla, San Fernando City, La Union where infectious and pharmaceutical wastes are deposited, away from patients and public spaces to minimize exposure, prior to transport to central storage. The facility is equipped with appropriate security, signages using easily visible biohazard symbols, and proper refrigeration in temperatures between 3 to 8 degrees Celsius.From the DOH CHD-1 facility, trained personnel coordinates with the Treatment, Storage, and Disposal (TSD) providers contracted by the DOH Central Office who are DENR-accredited transporter.
At present, the DOH CHD-1 Waste Storage Facility houses all COVID-19 vaccine wastes from different Provincial Health Offices and other implementing health units in the Region.
