Discarding vaccines and medicines leads MPF to open inquiry – 03/22/2023 – Health

The Public Prosecutor’s Office in the Federal District determined the opening of a civil inquiry to determine whether there were irregularities in the disposal of medicines purchased by the Ministry of Health that expired in the last five years.

The measure comes after reports from the Sheet reveal the loss of 39 million Covid-19 vaccines during the pandemic. High-cost medicines for rare diseases and 1 million insulin pens were also incinerated during the Jair Bolsonaro (PL) administration.

Products expired since 2019 cost at least BRL 2.2 billion. The Federal Public Ministry will verify possible acts of administrative impropriety and property damage.

The determination was signed this Monday (20) by the Federal Attorney Anna Carolina Resende Maia Garcia.

She ordered the Ministry of Health to show which medicines were discarded in the last five years because of the end of validity.

The folder must also point out the names of those responsible for the distribution of these medicines and what measures it has adopted to avoid further loss of products.

The Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) government blames the Bolsonaro administration for the loss of medicines and vaccines.

In a note, Health said that the scenario of loss of vaccines, medicines and other inputs “reflects the neglect of the previous government, which denied the transition team information on stocks and validity of these products”.

The folder states that it works to adjust stocks and improve the distribution of products.

The MPF will also question the Febrararas (Brazilian Federation of Rare Disease Associations) about “possible initiatives” presented by the entity to the ministry against the waste of medicines for patients with rare diseases.

The president of the federation, Antoine Daher, said that he proposed to the Bolsonaro government mechanisms to improve the distribution of medicines, for example, redistributing bottles that were not used.

“We made the proposal, and unfortunately the ministry, after applauding the idea, didn’t go ahead with it,” said Daher, who is the father of a patient with Hunter syndrome.

Data on Health stocks had been kept secret since 2018. At the end of February, the CGU (Controladoria-Geral da União) recommended a review of this reserve. The folder commanded by Nísia Trindade released, for the time being, the list of discarded products or that were sent for incineration.

Questioned during the last week about the losses, Marcelo Queiroga stated that he does not have data on stocks and that this information is under the care of the technical areas. He led the ministry from March 2021 to December 2022.

Luiz Henrique Mandetta, Minister of Health from January 2019 to April 2020, said that in the period in which he commanded the portfolio, there was an effort to adapt the management of inventories, by transferring products from warehouses in Rio de Janeiro to a center in Guarulhos. , in Greater São Paulo.

Current federal deputy Eduardo Pazuello (PL-RJ), who was also Minister of Health in the Bolsonaro government (from June 2020 to March 2021), did not comment.

LOST SUS STOCKS

Discarded products from 2019

vaccines for Covid-19: 39 million doses (estimated at BRL 2 billion)

Others vaccines: 7.4 million bottles (estimated at BRL 128 million)

Pen of insulin: 1 million units (estimated at BRL 15 million)

Therapies of rare diseases: at least 12 types (estimated at BRL 13 million)

Others inputs: around BRL 96 million

total lost: about BRL 2.2 billion