Tagbilaran City Mayor Baba Yap on Monday said that the city’s ultra-cold freezer which can store COVID-19 vaccines developed by Pfrizer-BioNtech is ready for use and inspection by the Department of Health (DOH).

According to Yap, he has informed the DOH that the city now has the capacity to receive vaccines from the American pharmaceutical company and German biotechnology firm which require ultra-cold conditions to maintain their efficacy.

“Ang Department of Health ato ng gipahibaw sa tawag ug sa text and after this magpada sila og taw to inspect, gi andam naman pud nato ang team na mo operate ani, mo bantay ani kay importante kaayo na di madaot ang mga bakuna,” Yap said in an interview over station dyRD’s “Inyong Alagad” program.

The mayor said the ultra-cold freezer along with 17 cold chain transport coolers and mobile freezers which can be used at vaccination sites arrived in the city on Saturday last week and were installed at the City Health Office (CHO).

“Kita man gud ang style nato dili pa g’yud ta mo-announce og wala pa g’yud nato na gigunitan na g’yud nato kay ikapila na ta anang mo-announce ta unya madugay pa, pangitaan unya ta,” Yap said.

The freezer can store vaccines developed by Pfizer-BioNtech and Moderna which need to be stored at negative 80 degrees Celsius and negative 40 degrees Celsius, respectively.

It can store 6,000 vials at negative 80 degrees Celsius and 5,000 vials at negative 40 degrees Celsius.

According to Yap, he made sure to secure the equipment considering that the national government is planning to procure a large amount of the jabs from the drugmaker.

“Unya ato pong nahibaw-an na ang Pfizer maoy pinakadako na bulto na e-procure sa atong national government so luoy pud ta og di ta mangandam ani,” he said.

“Gipangandaman g’yud nato ning Pfizer kay mao pud niy isa sa mga brands nga giganit didto sa America, usa pud ni sa brands na gusto ipang tupok sa atoang mga katawhan,” he added.

The mayor however reminded the public that the they should not shun the usage of others brands of vaccine that are approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

“Atong e-grab ang opportunity oppurtunity kung naa na ang lain na mga brands sa vaccine, ok ra g’yud gihapon ni siya. Magdiffer ra ni sila sa efficacy rating,” he said.