NEARLY 150,000 doses of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) vaccines were put to waste due to the fire that engulfed the Provincial Health Office of Zamboanga del Sur Sunday evening, October 31, 2021, the National Task Force Against Covid-19 (NTF) said on Monday, November 1.
The NTF said in a statement that based on the initial report, the fire damaged 9,176 doses of AstraZeneca, 14,400 doses of Moderna, 88,938 dose of Pfizer-BioNTech, and 36,164 doses of Sinovac vaccines.
It said the AstraZeneca vaccines were allocated as second doses, which were scheduled for deployment on November 3, while the Moderna vaccines were intended for the pediatric vaccination rollout also on November 3.
The NTF said some of the Pfizer vaccines were allocated for Pagadian City.
“The Sinovac vaccines were not delivered immediately because there were already LGUs (local government units) that refused to accept the said vaccines due to vaccine brand preference,” it said.
The Department of Health (DOH) said routine immunization vaccines allocated for the province were also destroyed.
The three-story building that was hit by the fire was occupied by different offices and departments of the Provincial Government, including the provincial cold chain storage facility for Covid-19 vaccines allocated for 26 municipalities and one component city.
“The National Task Force against Covid-19, together with the Department of Health (DOH), the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), and the National Vaccination Operations Center, are closely monitoring developments in the incident’s investigation. All agencies are on standby to provide immediate support to the Regional and Local Vaccination Operations Centers in the Zamboanga Peninsula,” the NTF said.
“The responders are now in the process of retrieving vaccines which can still be used, as well as unutilized refrigerators, carriers, and transport boxes. Vaccine administration at the provincial and municipal level has also been rescheduled,” it added.
The task force also assured residents of Zamboanga del Sur that the damaged vaccines will be replenished and the doses will be shipped immediately as soon as the new cold storage is ready for use.
Meanwhile, NTF Vice Chairman and Interior Secretary Eduardo Año ordered the conduct of a thorough investigation on the fire incident.
Año said the DILG will also issue a show cause order to the Provincial Government of Zamboanga del Sur for their failure to deliver the vaccines three days after the receipt of the supplies as a protocol issued by the Inter-Agency Task Force.
“May this unfortunate incident be a reminder to all local government units to ensure the safety and security of these life-saving vaccines... Let us keep in mind that vaccines are gold, and one dose equals one life saved. Protecting and ensuring the safety of these vaccines should be a primordial concern of all levels in the government,” Año said.
“To avoid similar incidents happening in the future, the DILG and DOH are reiterating to all LGUs at the municipal, city, and provincial levels to ensure that safety officers are reporting 24/7 in all Covid-19 cold chain facilities and warehouses,” he added. (SunStar Philippines)