ILOILO CITY – Iloilo Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr. has stressed the proper storage of vaccines after 167 doses of Sinovac vaccines were spoiled in San Enrique.
He urged local government units (LGUs) in Iloilo not to be negligent in the proper storage of COVID-19 vaccines. “Storage of these vaccines must be improved,” Defensor emphasized.
The Department of Health (DOH) Western Visayas (Region 6) and Iloilo Provincial Health Office (IPHO) are investigating the May incident at the COVID-19 storage facility of the San Enrique LGU.
San Enrique Mayor Trixie Fernandez had earlier explained the spoilage of the Sinovac vaccines were due to a power interruption of the Iloilo Electric Cooperative (ILECO I).
Because of this incident, the Iloilo governor said that LGUs in the 42 towns and component city of Passi must change its policy in monitoring the storage of COVID-19 vaccines. “Instead of an eight-hour interval of checking the freezer, maybe it should be done every two hours,” Defensor said.
It was learned that the person in-charge of monitoring the freezers where the Sinovac vaccines were stored checked them too late. The LGU of San Enrique has since purchased backup power generators.