QC opens cold room, storage facility for COVID-19 vaccines

MANILA, Philippines — The Quezon City (QC) government opened on Thursday a 105 square-meter cold room and storage facility in Brgy. Paligsahan, District 4, which is touted as the largest of such under the management of a local government.

The facility has medical-grade walk-in freezers and wall-mounted unit coolers that can safely store COVID-19 vaccines from the Pfizer, Astrazeneca, and Sinovac brands.

It can accommodate as much as 530,000 vials— 20,000 in ultra-low freezers, 10,000 vials in chest type freezers, and up to 500,000 inside the cold storage area depending on the size.

“This is a manifestation of how important public health is for us. We can say that we have come full circle in addressing this pandemic. From testing, isolating, vaccinating, and now storing supplies of vaccines for longer shelf life,” Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte said in a statement issued by the QC Government’s Public Information Office.

The Quezon City government claims that the new facility is the “largest” of such under the management of a local government. It added that this will expedite the transport of vaccines to different sites in the city.

“This will help the city health prepare for any future emergencies or disasters due to emerging and re-emerging diseases with outbreak potential. So it is really an addition to the improving system of public health in QC,” Dr. Esperanza Arias, Head of the City Health Department, said.

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