The National Vaccination Operations Center (NVOC) on Thursday said more than 100 vials of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine had been destroyed during the onslaught of Typhoon “Odette.”

In a “Laging Handa” briefing, Dr. Kezia Rosario of NVOC said some vaccine vials were submerged in floodwater.

“Iyong instruction namin is if iyong mga vaccine ay nakaranas na paglutang sa mga bagyo at sa mga floodwaters or iyong refrigerator ay lumutang sa floodwaters…dapat i-consider na siya na whether it is for disposal na or hindi,” she said.

The NVOC also gave an instruction to dispose of vaccine vials that were unrefrigerated for over four hours and those whose labeling had been peeled off.

“[W]e extract all the vaccines na puwede namin ma-extract. For the local government units naman na kaya nilang ibigay, i-administer na, we can give it,” Rosario said.

The Department of Health earlier reported the wastage of 100 Pfizer vaccine vials. Each vial is equivalent to six vaccine shots.

“As the time lapsed, from the time na nag-start iyong bagyo, yes, we are recording more wastage,” Rosario said.

“Odette” has killed 258 individuals, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council’s latest report. John Ezekiel J. Hirro