TASKED to support the national government in the mass rollout of the nationwide vaccination program, some local government units (LGUs) are already taking steps to prepare for the vaccination program, including storage and distribution so their constituents get Covid-19 jabs in timely manner.
The Taguig city government has partnered with ORCA Cold Chain Solutions for the end-to-end delivery of vaccines in a bid to vaccinate all its citizens for free.
“We have cleared the highest standards in disease surveillance, testing and treatment, and we cannot drop the ball now. Vaccination is a crucial step in halting communicable diseases and this facility is necessary for us to deliver the life-saving vaccine from the laboratories to our citizens,” Mayor Lino Edgardo Cayetano said.
Cayetano said their partnership with ORCA Cold Chain Solutions ensures there is ample room for the city’s pre-ordered vaccines, with extra space to store vaccines procured by neighboring cities.
He said the partnership with a world-class facility is proof that Taguig is ready to welcome the incoming vaccines and is doing everything it can to secure the temperature and quality of the vaccines from end to end—from cold storage to delivery at vaccination centers.
The city government on January 15 gave a sneak peek of the country’s first-ever world-class, fully automated cold storage facility. The City Health Office and a contingent of key officials led by the mayor and Rep. Alan Peter Cayetano visited the expansive 6,500-square-meter facility in Bagumbayan village.
It is also ready with the other components to ensure the vials can be transported from the storage facility to vaccination centers under controlled temperatures and with quality checks.
The city committed on January 5 to allocate P1 billion to ensure its 1-million residents are vaccinated for free.
Cayetano noted that Taguig pre-ordered vials from biopharmaceutical company AstraZeneca and was in negotiations with other suppliers to complement the provisions from the national government.
The Covid-19 vaccines approved for distribution worldwide require refrigeration, a prerequisite that has posed a logistics challenge for many LGUs. For instance, the AstraZeneca vaccine that the city pre-ordered requires fridge temperatures. Others, like Pfizers’ BNT162b2, need more intense subzero temperatures.
Taguig repurposed an ORCA Cold Chain Solutions cold storage facility, previously used to store items for pharmaceutical industries, supermarkets, food processing companies, and meat and seafood importers, among others.
The building has a 22,000 MT static storage capacity and can move 876,000 MT on an annual basis. The facility is capable of real-time monitoring with IT software and digital technology.
Marikina
Marikina Mayor Marcelino Teodoro said their LGU has a cold storage facility for vaccines needing sub-zero degree temperatures.
They will avail of 120,000 doses of Covid-19 vaccine.
He stressed the need for a “deployment strategy,” as vaccines cannot just be taken out from storage and administered on people just like that.
Then, there’s the need to train vaccinators and profiling for vaccine candidates.
“Profiling is important, so there are doctors and virologists to do the profiling. If I pass the profiling, I will be the first to get a vaccine shot,” he said.
They are eyeing vaccines made in the United Kingdom and the United States.
The city allocated an initial P82.2 million for the campaign and are looking at other sources, such as disposing of idle lands to get more funds, or the city’s calamity funds, considering that Covid-19 pandemic is a calamity also.
San Juan
San Juan City conducted a two-day simulation of the vaccination process on January 13 and January 14, 2021 at the San Juan Gym.
Mayor Francis Zamora said this will show the flow of the vaccination process and address gaps way before the vaccine arrives. This was also a dry run for healthcare workers who just underwent two-day training from the DOH, and for city hall departments involved to get familiarized with their roles and responsibilities during the vaccination process.
“We decided to hold the simulation so that early as now, we can see where the problems may be coming from and address them as soon as possible. We want to be ready when the vaccine arrives and as people can see, we are ready anytime,” Zamora declared.
The city initially ordered 100,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine, enough to cover 50,000 residents, to be supplemented by more supplies from the national government.
“San Juan Gym will be our main vaccination center. We chose this venue because it’s well-ventilated and big enough to accommodate hundreds of San Juaneños who already signed up to get the Covid-19 vaccine. It is also located right in the heart of the city so it’s accessible to our constituents,” Zamora said.
Different vaccination sites will be set up in key public areas and health stations and health centers, depending on the number of residents seeking vaccination.
During the simulation, it was estimated that a person will take less than 20 minutes to go through all the processes from the registration area, counseling and final consent area, final screening area, and the actual vaccination process.
Afterwards, they will be led to another area for the one-hour observation after vaccination.
Pasay
The Pasay city government has signed a deal to buy from AstraZeneca 275,000 doses to inoculate the city’s residents for free.
Mayor Emi Calixto-Rubiano said, “The vaccines will be free for the citizens of Pasay City. Healthcare workers and senior citizens are on our priority list.”
She said the LGU chose AstraZeneca over other vaccines because these are more affordable, with high efficacy and require simple handling.
“We can store AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccines…even in ordinary refrigerators,” she said.
She said the LGU has been training personnel for the vaccination.
The mayor said all these steps are being undertaken in coordination with the national government, especially through the National Task Force (NTF) on Covid-19.