BATAAN Governor Albert S. Garcia on Thursday announced the readiness of the province for the roll-out of the COVID-19 vaccine as he reported the completion of the cold chain storage facility with the arrival of the bio-medical freezers with complete storage solutions.
The freezers can store up to almost 100,000 vials of COVID-19 vaccines at different temperatures required.
The Governor said that among the five units of freezers procured by the provincial government (with one unit to be delivered at the last week of March) to comprise the cold chain facility in Bataan, “any kind of COVID-19 vaccine available for us can be maintained in the right temperature and kept at a stable condition at all times, even in the event of a power outage.”
Supplied by the company, Expedia Solutions Specialists, Inc., the cold chain facility will also be the site of the centralized inoculation center situated at the Bataan People’s Center at the heart of the Bataan capitol compound, a stone’s throw away from the Bataan General Hospital and Medical Center (BGHMC), the only tertiary level hospital in the province.
The Provincial Health Office (PHO) led by Dr. Rosanna Buccahan, has conducted several simulations purporting to the actual day of vaccination as well as providing trainings of personnel beginning with the patient validation, screening, counseling, actual vaccination, and post-vaccination on the day of the roll-out.
Bataan, the governor added, is set to receive Sinovac vaccines anytime since Thursday for the first leg of the roll-out from the national government earmarked for the medical frontliners belonging to the Priority Group A as dictated by the Department of Health (DOH).