Five local government units (LGUs) in the National Capital Region (NCR) will participate in the rollout of 15,000 doses of the Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine, National Task Force (NTF) Against Covid-19 deputy chief implementer and testing czar Vince Dizon said Monday.
Manila, Taguig, Makati, Parañaque, and Muntinlupa will each get an initial 3,000 doses of the jabs by Russian pharmaceutical firm Gamaleya Research Institute.
Dizon said the five cities have storage facilities with a temperature not exceeding minus 18 degrees Celsius.
The pilot rollout is needed to assess and review other logistical requirements.
“I think most of the LGUs naman sa NCR merong [-20 storage facility]. May iba’t ibang LGUs na rin sa Region 3 at Region IV-A na mayroon na rin, pero hindi lang naman kasi facilities ang kailangan. Dapat ma-train din sila (I think most of the LGUs in NCR have a negative 20 storage facility. Region 3 and Region 4-A also have their own but it is not just about facilities. They should also be trained) on the [vaccine] handling,” Dizon said in a press briefing during the opening of and walk-through at the Eva Macapagal Super terminal isolation facility (section A) at the South Harbor in Port Area, Manila.
Dizon said there are different types of handling Covid-19 jabs depending on the brands.
The chosen LGUs have gone through trainings on handling and administration of the Sputnik vaccine, he added.
Once delivered, the vaccines will be initially stored at the Metro Pac cold-chain storage facility in Marikina before distribution to the five LGUs.
The 15,000 doses of Sputnik V were initially announced to be arriving Sunday but logistical constraints moved the delivery to Wednesday.
Dizon noted that delays in vaccine deliveries are due to limited supply worldwide.
“Pero yung delays na ‘yan hindi lang sa Pilipinas ‘yan. Nakikita din natin ‘yan sa buong mundo. Ang delays na nangyayari sa deliveries sa iba’t ibang countries is normal lang yan (But the delays on vaccine deliveries are not just happening in the Philippines. These are being experienced in different countries worldwide and it is normal),” he added.