City Mayor John Geesnell Yap (left), City Health Officer (CHO) Head Jeia Pondoc (center) and CHO staff Valerie Polo (right), show the newly-acquired specialized freezers of the City Government which will be used in the storage of vaccines against the Coronavirus disease (Covid). Contributed photo

As part of the preparation for the arrival of the Coronavirus vaccines (Covid), the City Government of Tagbilaran procured ultralow temperature freezers to be used as cold storage facilities for the said vaccines, a report from the City Media Bureau says.

City Health Officer Dr. Jeia Pondoc said that some Covid vaccines, such as the vaccines made by Pfizer-BioNTech, need to be stored in areas with extremely cold temperatures.

Along with the ultralow temperature freezers, the city procured mobile freezers and cold chain transport coolers. The mobile freezers and cold chain transport coolers are needed to bring the vaccines to different vaccination sites.

 City Mayor John Geesnell Yap II prioritized the acquisition of these pieces of equipment to hasten the administration of vaccines to the Tagbilaranons.

 “Vaccination has an impact. It can restore confidence among the consumers, thereby increasing economic activity. It can also be viewed as a way to reclaim the strength of our economy and society. We need to keep businesses open so that jobs would be maintained, and most importantly, stop the spread of this infectious disease,” Yap said.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Covid vaccines are effective  at keeping vaccinated persons from getting severe Covid infection.

Scientific studies showed that it typically takes 2 weeks after vaccination for the body to build immunity against the virus. 

Thus, it is strongly advised that people should still follow the health and safety protocol until fully vaccinated.

On Thursday, May 20, 2021 the vaccine rollout for the senior citizens started. The vaccine rollout is being staged in 3 sites namely: Bool Elementary School, Tagbilaran City Central Elementary School, and Tagbilaran City College.

Nurse Robin Reyes Culpa said that the CHO’s goal is to vaccinate between 1,500 to 2,000 senior citizens.

Moreover, Pondoc shared that another batch of vaccines is set to arrive in the 3rd quarter of this year.