Vice President and opposition leader Leni Robredo said Sunday, June 6, it is “inexcusable” not to secure the supply of coronavirus vaccines in areas where there are rotational brownouts.
Parts of Luzon experienced power outages last week because of high demand and low supply.
Senator Sherwin Gatchalian said that two vaccination centers in his hometown of Valenzuela City had power interruptions while Marikina City Mayor Marcelino Teodoro asked for reassurance that areas where the COVID-19 vaccines are stored will be spared from power outages.
The Department of Health (DOH) already assured the public they have contigency plans in place for the storage of COVID-19 vaccines in case of rotating brownouts.
READ: DOH: COVID-19 vaccine storage facilities, inoculation sites ready for any disaster
Robredo said there is no excuse for vaccine spoilage either because of brownout or the vaccines were not stored at the proper temperature or the failure to turn on the freezer.
“Inexcusable iyon kasi napakavaluable commodity ngayon ang bakuna, di ba? Kapag merong isang bagay na very valuable parang ginagawa mo iyong lahat para masecure yun (That’s inexcusable because the vaccine is a very valuable commodity right now, right? If you have a very valuable item, you will do everything to secure that),” she stressed.
According to DOH, the country’s vaccination sites are tasked to ensure “simulation activities have been conducted and that back-up power sources are available.”
"They are also mandated to closely monitor and report the temperature of their cold storage," its statement read.