BACOLOD CITY—The provincial health officer of Negros Occidental has urged local government units in the province to buy biomedical refrigerators to store coronavirus vaccines to be delivered to 31 towns and cities.
Dr. Ernell Tumimbang, provincial health officer, said the refs can be used not just for the coronavirus vaccines but also for vaccines for other viruses.
“They should prepare for it. It will not be a waste of money,” Tumimbang said. The refs could also be used in laboratories, he said.
The different vaccines available now have different storage temperature requirements. That of Pfizer has to be stored in temperatures ranging from minus 60 to minus 80 degrees Celsius, which would require ultra cold freezers or refs.
Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson had asked the national government for 3 million doses of coronavirus vaccines for the province’s population of 1.5 million.
The Provincial Incident Management Team, which oversees pandemic response, met with Lacson on Wednesday (Feb. 17) to discuss preparations for mass vaccination.
A dry run of the vaccination process will be held in a still undetermined location in the province to test speed of deployment and inoculaton.
“We are currently identifying the persons who will administer the vaccines which will include midwives,” Tumimbang said.