Magalong Air Dismay to RITM who Donate 50K Expired RT-PCR Test Kits to Baguio City
Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong air dismay Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) who donate expired 50k RT-PCR test kits.
Magalong handed over the reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test kits donated by the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) which has expired, to the Department of Health and the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases.
According to Mayor Magalong, RITM donated 50,000 RT-PCR test kits to a private diagnostic center, but when they were used, it was found that many had expired and others are near to expiration date.
“Bakit ganoon? Naghahanap tayo ng test kits. Bakit biglang nag-donate ang RITM nang napakarami? And I surmise na hindi lang hundreds of thousands iyan. Most probably, mas mataas pa,” Magalong said.
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According to the Baguio City mayor, the RT-PCR test kits were provided by RITM at the diagnostic center on October 16, 2020, but only one thousand pieces were used because some of them have expired since October 10 and 15. Others expired in November.
“Meron pa nga October 10, October 15 nag-expire na. Doon kami nagtataka and we’re raising hell,” the town Mayor said.
The mayor added that some local government units have also been given RT-PCR test kits that are about to expire. However, DOH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire vehemently denied the incident and said the agency and RITM do not make donations to local governments.
“Baka po doon sa mga laboratories na nabigyan na namin dati ay nagkaroon na po nang expiry ‘no over the months that we had been using this RT-PCR,” said Vergeire sa Laging Handa briefing.
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