The simulation activity for the arrival of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines was successful, according to Vaccine Czar Carlito Galvez Jr. and DOH chief Francisco Duque III.
The first dry run for the arrival of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines took 50 minutes to finish, starting from airplane unloading until the delivery to the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM). This is swifter than the 120 minutes overall target duration.
The vaccine transport from Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) to RITM in Muntinlupa took less than 30 minutes.
All phases of the transport were quicker than the target duration, except for the distribution preparation which lasted for 47 minutes or 17 minutes longer than the 30 minutes target.
The Inter-Agency Task Force explained that the time compliance in the transport of vaccines has to be strict to prevent vaccine wastage.
“Considering the 117,000 vaccines from Pfizer is very delicate, dapat no room for error… The more matagal ang vaccine outside warehouse, malaki possibility na magkaron tayo ng spoilage (Considering the 117,000 vaccines from Pfizer are very delicate, there should be no room for error… The longer the vaccines stay outside the warehouse, the bigger the possibility of spoilage),” Galvez stated.
The exact date of the arrival of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines have yet to be announced. Its indicative date, however, is on February 15. This will be followed by a series of internal simulation by the vaccine cluster to ensure preciseness, considering the differences in handling each vaccine brand. – Report from Naomi Tiburcio
