City prepares vaccine freezers for possible mass vaccination
The city government through the City Health Office (CHO) is now preparing the vaccine freezers which are an Ultra-Low Temperature and Laboratory Bio Ref for possible mass vaccination after an assessment by the Department of Health (DOH) Region XII.
While waiting for the DOH’s evaluation, the supplier had previously conducted the orientation on the said storage unit to the CHO personnel led by Engr. Manuel John Reyes together with Account Executive J-Ric Rojo. Engr. Reyes demonstrated its proper usage including how it is handled, correct temperature and security features to ensure that the temperature will not be altered.
Rojo, on the other hand, discussed the durability and efficacy of the cooler device and its warranty. He also guaranteed that the freezers and vaccines would be secured even with a series of brownouts because it has four (4)-hour battery standby as well as an Automatic Voltage Regulator (AVR) and generator set as part of the supplier’s freebie. He further explained that freezers also have many uses as they are not only for vaccines but after the pandemic it can also be used as a blood bank and can be a storage of other vials needed for the laboratory.
The City Government of Koronadal has purchased two (2) freezers with a total amount of PhP1.975 million to store the number of vaccines and thus also expect to expedite the vaccination of the Koronadaleños.
Ultra-Low Temperature and Laboratory Bio Ref were both manufactured in the US wherein the first-mentioned freezer is reserved for the Pfizer BioTech vaccine with a capacity to accommodate 31,500 vials with the equivalent of 189,000 doses, while the latter is reserved for AstraZeneca, Sinovac, Janssen (J&J) and other vaccines with a storage capacity of 10,000 to 12,000 vials.
City Health Physician Dr. Stephen Mortera hopes that with the said freezers, the vaccination will be spontaneously conducted especially that there is already considered a surge of COVID-19 not only in the city but also in neighboring places.
During the previous press conference, Mortera cited the current situation of the hospitals wherein there is a shortage of hospital beds to accommodate patients not only in the city but also in the entire province of South Cotabato.