MANILA, Philippines — Authorities on Tuesday sought to assure that contingency plans are in place in COVID-19 vaccination sites and storage areas amid power outages in parts of Luzon.
"Yellow" and "Red" alerts in the Luzon grid were earlier raised Tuesday by the National Grid Corporation. It came as demand for electricity exceeded the available supply at a time of intense summer heat.
Essentially, it would mean rotational blackouts in some areas that could also hit even facilities tasked to store COVID-19 jabs or administer it.
The National Vaccination Operations Center has since told its regional and local counterparts as well as its implementing units and sites to come up with the said plans.
In a message, the Department of Health said simulation activities should be done in the event of a blackout, and ensure the availability of back-up power sources.
"They are also mandated to closely monitor and report the temperature of their cold storage," DOH added.
Vaccines being administered in the Philippines to date are: Sinovac, AstraZeneca, Sputnik V and Pfizer, which require to be stored at specific temperatures.
By end-May, over 5.18 million doses of the jabs have been administered according to government figures.
More than 1.2 million Filipinos have been fully vaccinated out of the 50 to 70 million target this year, while 3.97 million with their first dose.