Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 1) — Officials leading the country’s pandemic response assured on Tuesday that preparations have been made to protect COVID-19 vaccines amid ongoing rotational blackouts in Luzon.
National Task Force Against COVID-19 deputy chief implementer Vince Dizon said having a backup power system is a “strict” requirement for local government units with cold storage facilities.
“Hindi po pwedeng mag-store ng bakuna kung walang generator at walang uninterrupted power supply,” Dizon said in a media briefing.
[Translation: They cannot store vaccines if they don’t have a generator and uninterrupted power supply.]
He added that because of this directive, no vaccines were affected by the blackouts on Monday, based on a report from the Department of Health.
Vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. also said warehouses have been reminded to continuously inspect the condition of supplies, as well as to regularly assess existing backup measures through simulations. This is especially important to protect the ultra-cold chain system needed to meet the stringent temperature requirements for Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, he added.
With the country’s power supply running thin, parts of Luzon are likely to still experience blackouts with longer red alerts hours on Tuesday, the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines warned.
RELATED: Rotating blackouts may last until June 7 as Luzon power supply remains thin – NGCP
