OVER 171,700 doses of AstraZeneca (AZ) vaccines against coronavirus disease (Covid-19) were wasted in Central Visayas as of Feb. 28, 2022.Mary Jean Loreche, chief pathologist of the Department of Health in Central Visayas (DOH 7) and spokesperson of the Visayas Vaccination Operations Center (VVOC), made the disclosure in a briefing on Thursday, March 10.Loreche said the most recent wastage of the AZ vaccines was noted after Typhoon Odette (Rai) hit the region on Dec. 16, 2021.The strong typhoon that devastated parts of Cebu cut power supply for several weeks.Loreche said the AZ brand was nearing expiry at that time.She also said majority of the wastage was noted after the typhoon, although she could not give the exact number yet.“We were given vaccines that were about to expire, but we had a hard time dispensing of them because we were in a calamity,” she explained in a mix of Tagalog and English.As of March 9, about 10,822,082 doses of vaccines from different brands have been received in Central Visayas, of which 1,962,100 were doses of AstraZeneca.Loreche said there are still 1,453,874 doses remaining in Central Visayas or about 14.4 percent of the total number of vaccines received.Loreche said vaccine wastage could refer to unopened vials which could not be administered due to some breakage, expiration, temperature excursion, and contamination due to impurity.She added that vaccine wastage can also be attributed to change of phase, empty vial, missing inventory or theft, absence of proper label, and suspension of the lot or batch numbers of the vaccines.Meanwhile, open vials may refer to vaccines that have underdosage/excess dosage, spillage, blood backflow, and defective auto disable syringes, Loreche said.As of Wednesday, about 8,897,348 vaccine doses have been administered in Central Visayas.