prijava
SARAJEVO, July 25 (FENA) - After two years of agony that the whole world was going through, there was calm period when everyone was relieved from coronavirus pandemic, but it seems it is going to flare up again.
There is no rest at the FBiH Institute for Public Health (ZZJZZ) because it seems that a new, sixth wave of the pandemic has begun and they are leaving nothing to chance. As they point out, they also used this small break to review the situation, determine what was done well in the past two years, and what could be improved.
As Dr. Siniša Skočibušić, director of the FBiH Institute for Public Health, points out in an interview for FENA, it is indisputable that our health system functioned throughout the pandemic, following all the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO) and other relevant public health institutions. Behind everything, a valuable legacy was left such as new medical equipment, evenly distributed to all healthcare institutions throughout the Federation of BiH. Skočibušić also announces new investments.
“Currently, we have started the distribution of more than 300 best quality refrigerators and several electricity generators for high-quality and stable storage of vaccines in every health center, hospital and institution in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. We continue to improve the temperature monitoring system at all locations along with other consumables. We renewed the system in accordance with modern principles of effective vaccine management in cooperation with UNICEF and other donors,” says Dr. Skočibušić.
Citizens have received more than 1.2 million doses of vaccines so far. However, what is also a legacy from the past pandemic period is almost half a million vaccines that have expired and need to be destroyed.
He notes that there are three types of waste in healthcare: infectious, medical, and pharmaceutical, which includes vaccines. Given that Bosnia and Herzegovina does not have its own incinerators, Skočibušić emphasizes that the surplus will be destroyed through a tender procedure, according to the Law on Public Procurement of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
“These are vaccines that are exported to be destroyed in Austria due to high environmental standards. Through a tender, a company that is qualified and has permits to properly dispose of and destroy this type of waste will be selected. Also, that company will ultimately have the obligation to attach a certificate as proof that the waste was destroyed in the prescribed manner. We collected and consolidated all expired vaccines from all cantonal public health institutes. We do not yet know exactly how much their destruction will cost, but the FBiH Government has provided 50,000 KM for this purpose, and we believe that this is quite enough,” says Dr. Skočibušič.
In order for them to reach the end user, special preparations are needed and, as he says, strict care is also taken in their transportation.
The FBiH Institute for Public Health for the transport of vaccines has two certified VW Caddy vehicles with a special cooling space that is mapped and calibrated every year in order to maintain the required temperature. The FBiH Institute expects to receive two new cars for this purpose soon.
“Transportation is performed exclusively under the supervision of a company accredited by the Institute of Metrology of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Every minute is tracked, from the moment of entry into Bosnia and Herzegovina, when the vaccines arrive either at the border crossing or by plane, until distribution to the central warehouse in Mostar and from there to the vaccination site. It is a cold chain monitoring system. During their transport, the temperature is measured all the time, because it is a delicate product that we maintain in the best quality so that the people who receive it have the best result. The Expert Council of the Medicines Agency of Bosnia and Herzegovina also gave an expert conclusion on this transport in the conditions of pandemic,” said Director of the FBiH Institute of Public Health, Siniša Skočibušić.
(FENA) A. B.
