Muntinlupa suspends mall vaccination after storage facility issue

The Muntinlupa City Government on Thursday temporarily suspended the COVID-19 vaccination at the Festival Mall vaccination site due to an issue with its storage facility.

In a statement, the Muntinlupa City COVID-19 Vaccination Program (MunCoVac) said an initial investigation showed that there was a change in temperature at the facility that might affect the quality of the vaccines.

“Humihingi kami ng paumanhin sa mga naka-schedule sa Festival Mall Vaccination Site. Kasalukuyang nagpapadala ng mensahe ang MunCoVac Team, at antabayanan din po ninyo ang abiso para sa panibagong schedule,” it said.

(We apologize to those scheduled for vaccination. We are currently sending messages to affected individuals. Please wait for your next schedule.)

Meanwhile, the vaccination team said it has reached out to the National government for appropriate action.

“Sinisiguro nating mabibigyan ng bakuna ang mga apektado ng insidenteng ito, lalo ang mga naka-schedule ng second dose (We will ensure that affected residents will be given their vaccines, especially those scheduled for their second dose),” it said.

GMA News Online has reached out to MunCoVac for further details but has yet to get a reply.

Meanwhile, the Department of Health said they were already looking into the incident.

“Most likely this will undergo the same process of validation by our experts to assure efficacy,” the DOH said in a message sent to reporters.

The Philippines has administered a total of 14 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines so far, with at least four million people already fully vaccinated with two doses. -MDM, GMA News