Several Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines – the quantity not disclosed – will go to waste after the storage facility in a major vaccination site in Alabang, Muntinlupa encountered issues, local government officials said Thursday.
The vaccination activities in Festival Mall will be temporarily suspended while they are fixing the storage facility, Muntinlupa City said in a statement. The vaccines stored in the facility will not be used to ensure safety and efficacy, it said.
In its statement in Tagalog, the local government unit said: “Based on our initial investigation, there was a change in the temperature, which may affect the quality of the vaccines. We decided not to use the vaccines. It’s better to be safe.”
Vaccines are supposed to be stored at a specific temperature identified by the manufacturer to ensure its quality.
Meanwhile, Malacañang said the number of fully vaccinated individuals against COVID-19 in the Philippines had surpassed the four million mark.
Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said of the 10,026,722 who have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, a total 4,047,792 had received their second dose as of July 14, 2021.
On July 14 alone, Roque said 257,156 COVID-19 vaccine doses were administered nationwide.
Since February, the National Task Force against COVID-19 said 20.7 million COVID-19 vaccine doses have been delivered.
In related developments, government’s third-party cold-chain and logistics partner Pharmaserv Express on Thursday delivered AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines to Negros Occidental.
Civil Defense – Western Visayas officials said the 6,260 vials of AstraZeneca vaccines arrived safely at the Bacolod-Silay Airport. They added that 4,080 vials went to Negros Occidental and 2,180 were shipped to Bacolod City.
Each vial of AstraZeneca vaccine contains 10 doses.
Negros Occidential ordered 3,500 AstraZeneca doses while Bacolod City is expected to get some 18,200 doses.
As of July 13, the region has recorded 61,548 people who recovered from the coronavirus disease; 10,857 active cases, and 1,712 deaths.
On Tuesday, Pharmaserv also delivered an additional 2,850 doses of Sputnik V vaccine to Cebu province.
According to Dr. Mary Jean Loreche, chief pathologist and Visayas Vaccination Operations Center spokesperson, 2,550 doses of the vaccines will be given as first and second doses to 1,275 eligible individuals from various parts of the province.
The remaining 300 doses will be allotted for 300 persons in Cebu City as second dose.
In Manila, Health officials welcomed the arrival of Moderna COVID-19 vaccines at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
The shipment of 250,800 doses of vaccine manufactured in the United States landed at the NAIA – Terminal 3 around 1 p.m. aboard Singapore Airlines flight SQ-910.
Moderna, developed by American drug firm Moderna, Inc., is the seventh COVID-19 vaccine granted with emergency use approval in the Philippines on May 5.
NAIA district collector Carmelita Talusan said this is the 2nd batch of Moderna vaccines since its first arrival last June 27, and the 31st batch of vaccines cleared by the Bureau of Customs.
“The prompt and immediate facilitation of vaccine arrivals is part of the bureau’s support and contribution to the national vaccination program of the government,” she said.
Manila is also expecting the arrival of another vaccine shipment from China on Saturday.
Collector Talusan said 1.5 million doses of Sinovac vaccines procured by the government are scheduled to arrive at NAIA – Terminal 3 via Cebu Pacific Air flight 5J-671 around 7:35 a.m.
To date, more than 21.5 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been cleared and released by the Customs bureau. Of which, 13 million are Sinovac vaccines, 5.7 million AstraZeneca, 2.48 million Pfizer, 312,000 Sputnik V and 249,600 Moderna.
Meanwhile, the chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on.Ways and Means on Thursday cited the need for more equity in the distribution of vaccines among the regions, as COVID-19 vaccines continue to arrive in the country.
Citing data on regional vaccination rates, Albay Rep. Joey Sarte Salceda, the committee’s chairperson, said that the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines among different regions “remains grossly unequal, leaving behind regions like Bicol and the Bangsamoro far behind.”
“Vaccination is very crucial for our provinces, especially for regions as geographically dispersed or expansive as Bicol. While it’s possible for one person from Caloocan to seek medical attention in Muntinlupa, that’s close to impossible in Bicol, if you have to go from say Masbate to Camarines Norte. Healthcare capacity is segmented in the regions, so we really need to vaccinate our vulnerable to avoid hospitalization,” Salceda said.
As of July 4, the National Capital Region has among the highest share of vaccinated residents, at around 26.5 percent. At the bottom of the list, Region 5 has vaccinated only 2.73 percent of its population. The Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao has given only 1.52 percent of its people a first COVID-19 dose.
“The point of the vaccine is to prevent hospitalizations. So, you have to bring it to places where hospitalization is a very difficult option,” Salceda said.
“I understand that we are giving large doses of vaccines to centers of economic activity, such as NCR. But the disparities are just too large,” Salceda added.