MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Irregularities found regarding Covid-19 vaccination in Chile

A new vaccination strategy is needed, admitted Health Ministry official Elizabeth López

Chile's Comptroller General of the Republic (CGR) spotted significant irregularities in the Health Ministry's Covid-19 vaccination registry for 2022-2023, such as using expired doses, inoculating deceased recipients, and inventory discrepancies.

According to local media, 18,132 doses from 91 batches were recorded as administered after their expiration dates, with delays up to 903 days. Additionally, 37 doses in Lo Barnechea and La Florida were used beyond the 70-day post-thawing validity period.

The authorities also found that 436 vaccinations were registered under the IDs of deceased individuals. These inconsistencies were attributed to data entry errors or undocumented foreign citizens, with the actual recipients' identities unknown.

Moreover, six regional health authorities (Seremi) recorded 341,082 fewer vaccine doses in their control systems than reported received, and while the Health Ministry reported 2,947,189 expired vaccines from 2021-2023, the CGR calculated 3,214,565.

In this scenario, the CGR gave the Health Ministry 60 working days to correct these errors. It will also launch an investigation to determine administrative responsibilities for inadequate monitoring and data management.

In its defense, the Health Ministry spoke of typing errors affecting less than 0.1% of the 62 million doses administered. It admitted corrective measures like enhanced training were to be adopted, but underscored that the immunizers' safety had never been compromised.

“We value the work developed by the Comptroller General of the Republic, which audited the processes related to the management of Covid-19 vaccines, between 2022 and 2023,” said Elizabeth López, head of the Health Ministry's Immunization Department.

“The report confirms the magnitude and demands of implementing a new vaccination strategy in the context of a health emergency. As of December 2023, Chile had administered more than 62 million doses; the audit includes vaccine procurement and administration processes initiated during the previous administration, and in the current one, it has been up to us to continue and consolidate. Both the success of the vaccination campaign and its enormous challenges reflect an institutional effort shared by different governments and technical teams,” she added.