READY – A cold storage warehouse in Legazpi City is inspected on Sunday by Mayor Noel Rosal and is now ready to store the coronavirus vaccines that the city plans to purchase for its residents. —(MAR ARGUELLES)
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Health (DOH) on Friday assured the public that only top quality cold storage units will be used to store Covid-19 vaccines in a bid to curb fears of an ammonia leak.
“Kung ano man ang kemikal sa loob na ginagamit para sa storage facilities na ito, unang una, we ensure that there is quality,” DOH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said in an online press conference, when asked about government’s move to alleviate fears on leakage for ammonia, a chemical commonly used in cold storage facilities.
(Whatever chemical is in the storage facilities, we have to ensure that there is quality.)
“Kaya nga po sinasabi natin na hindi po basta basta na makakapagset-up tayo ng storage facility natin dahil marami po tayong iniisip para sa safety, para sa quality and para for us to remain yung potency ng bakuna na ilalagay diyan,” she added.
DOH Usec. Ma. Rosario Vergeire (Screengrab from RTVM video)
(That’s why we are saying that it is not that easy to set up storage facilities because we should also think about safety, quality and how to preserve the potency of vaccines that we will place there.)
On Wednesday afternoon, two persons died when ammonia leaked from an ice plant in Navotas City.
In a previous Senate hearing, Senator Nancy Binay urged the DOH to coordinate with the Cold Chain Association of the Philippines (CCAP) to help store vaccines.
Vials with a sticker reading, “COVID-19 / Coronavirus vaccine / Injection only” and a medical syringe are seen in front of a displayed Pfizer logo in this illustration taken October 31, 2020. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo/File Photo
China Sinovac’s vaccine needs to be stored at -2 to -8 degrees Celsius while US company Pfizer’s requires -80 to -70 degrees Celsius storage temperature.
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