Antipolo City readies cold storage facility for COVID-19 vaccines

The city government of Antipolo has prepared a cold storage facility for the COVID-19 vaccines will procure, according to a Balitanghali report by Super Radyo dzBB’s Mark Makalalad on Tuesday.

With the national vaccination rollout expected to start by February, Antipolo City mayor Andrea Ynares inspected the facility located at a warehouse in Barangay Mayamot on Tuesday.

The refrigerators can keep a temperature as low as -25 degrees Celsius, which can store vaccines from Moderna and AstraZeneca. The refrigerators can accommodate up to four containers of vaccines.

For Pfizer’s vaccines, the city government is still looking for cold storage facilities that can set temperature at -70 degrees Celsius.

The utilization of the facility is free in partnership with a private company, the report said.

Ynares said the vaccination in the city will be voluntary and recipients may sign a waiver. She expressed willingness to be among the first recipients of the vaccine in the city to boost the confidence of her constituents.

In line with this, doctors and nurses have attended orientation on the procedures of administering the vaccines, which include the reporting of possible adverse effects on the recipients.

Dr. Concepcion Lat of the Antipolo City Health Office said 200 vaccinators will facilitate the inoculation rollout in the city. Frontliners and senior citizens will be prioritized in the vaccination.

The Antipolo City government has dedicated P300 million for the inoculation.

Aside from Antipolo, several local government units such as Marikina, Taguig, and Quezon cities have been preparing cold storage facilities for COVID-19 vaccines.

On Monday, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said the government will need third party logistics providers for the cold storage of COVID-19 vaccines starting August. —Joviland Rita/KBK, GMA News