Provinces Priority Now For Vaccine Deliveries

The provinces are priority in the deployment of the freshly delivered Pfizer vaccine doses as a new storage condition for the jab allows local governments to store it in standard refrigerator temperatures, according to a PNA report.

Photo Insert: Arrival of US-donated Pfizer vaccines coursed through COVAX.

Health Undersecretary Carolina Vidal-Taiño, who welcomed the arrival of the US-made jabs Wednesday night, said the vaccine could last up to 30 days when stored with a temperature between two to eight degrees Celsius.

"Hindi lang sa negative 70, puwede na rin siya ngayon sa 2 to 8 temperature requirement. So halos lahat na ng mga regions ngayon at lugar makakatanggap na rin sila ng Pfizer vaccine (It's not only -70, we can also store it in 2 to 8 degrees Celsius. So most of the regions may now get Pfizer vaccine)," she told reporters during the arrival of 862,290 Pfizer doses at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3.

The latest shipment is part of the 1,015,560 doses ordered by the government, of which 76,050 have arrived in Cebu and the remaining 77,220 to be delivered to Davao on October 7.

Davao and Cebu have each received 994,500 doses of the US-donated Pfizer shots on October 6, all coursed through the COVAX Facility.

The total Pfizer vaccine doses delivered to the Philippines are now over 17 million -- about 3.51 million are government-procured while 10.8 million are donations from COVAX.

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