The Department of Health in Central Visayas (DOH-7) will conduct simulation exercises for the vaccination rollout in Cebu on Wednesday.
DOH-7 regional director Jaime Bernadas, in a statement released by the Office of the Presidential Assistant for the Visayas (OPAV) on Sunday, said the activity “will be in preparation for the rollout of the vaccines from the national hub to the regional hub”.
Bernadas said the agency is on the right track completing the “cold chain” for the vaccines to be allocated by the national government for Cebu, which is included for the initial rollout. Other areas included in the rollout will be Metro Manila, Calabarzon, Davao City, and Cagayan de Oro City.
The regional office has an existing cold storage capacity at 2 to 8 degrees Celsius with a capacity of up to 3.5 million coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) vaccine doses, Bernadas said.
“To accommodate Covid vaccines that have to be stored at minus 70 degrees Celsius, DOH-7 regional office and the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VMMC) are each acquiring freezers capable of minus 80 degrees Celsius. The VSMMC is a designated Covid hospital,” he said.
The statement said Pfizer vaccines have to be stored at minus 70 degrees Celsius while Moderna vaccines can be stored at minus 20 degrees Celsius, while the AstraZeneca vaccines have to be kept at 2 to 8 degrees Celsius.
The VSMMC freezer, Bernadas said, which has a capacity of 400,000 vaccine doses at minus 80 degrees Celsius, will be delivered on Monday or Tuesday.
“The DOH-7 freezer with a similar capacity will also arrive next week to provide redundancy capacity,” he added.
Dr. Mary Jean Loreche, DOH-7 chief pathologist and spokesperson for Covid-19, on Monday said the agency is coordinating with various local government units in providing trainings to local health workers who will be tapped for the vaccination activities.
She said the agency has not known yet as to the actual number of doses that shall be allocated for Cebu and Central Visayas.
“We encourage each one of us to get vaccinated. Vaccines are safe. These have been scrutinized and screened by our expert panels. In order for us to at least go back to the new normal let’s have ourselves vaccinated,” Loreche said. (PNA)
