Members of the Cebu City Vaccine Board visits a pharmaceutical storage facility in Metro Cebu. | Photo Courtesy of Cebu City PIO
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Cebu City Vaccine Board has visited one storage facility in Metro Cebu that may be able to cater to the storage needs of the vaccine when these arrive in the city.
Councilor Joel Garganera, the deputy chief implementor of the Emergency Operations Center (EOC), said the storage facility has also given the members of the vaccine board a chance to learn the logistical aspects of handling the vaccine.
“This is a 20-22 degrees below zero. It’s not just the storage facility but the transportation, packaging, and other logistical needs,” said the councilor.
Although the board has not yet revealed where the facility is located and what brand offers the vaccine, to avoid preempting their final decision, the facility is reportedly not in the jurisdiction of Cebu City.
Still, Garganera said that whatever brand the city is provided with from the national government and whatever brand the city chooses to procure, the residents are now assured that the city has the logistical capability to store such.
“It was a crash course for us. We never knew the technicalities about storing and transporting vaccines. It is such a delicate matter that is best left to experts,” said the councilor in a phone interview with CDN Digital.
The councilor added that with the option of using the storage facility, the city no longer has to worry about the logistical plan of storing, transporting, distributing, and disposing of the vaccine.
“Kaya kaayo nato. Andam na ta modawat sa vaccines,” said the councilor.
However, the use of the storage facility is still being mulled and is not final per se. The vaccine board is continuously in talks with pharmaceutical companies such as Pfizer, Moderna, and AstraZeneca as primary choices for the vaccines.
Based on the learnings on the storage facility, Garganera said there is a possibility that Cebu City can have its own storage facility if truly necessary.
Still, he emphasized that the logistical aspect of storing the vaccines is only one part of the program, and the information dissemination will still be the make or break factor on whether the city will achieve herd immunity. /rcg