More provinces are now getting their supply of the Pfizer vaccine against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) but concerns were also aplenty if local government units (LGUs) in far-flung and geographically-isolated areas are already prepared to handle this sensitive vaccine.

As such, during the arrival of 188,370 doses of Pfizer jabs on Thursday night, Sept. 2, the National Task Force (NTF) Against COVID-19 gave pointers on how to properly handle the United States (US)-made vaccines so they won't be spoiled and end up in the trash bin.

"As much as possible, ang mga munisipyo na hindi pa nakakatanggap nito ay bibigyan na natin para kapag dumating na ang bulk ay trained na sila and they really know how to process 'yong Pfizer vaccine dahil alam naman natin na napakadelicate nitong vaccine na ito (As much as possible, we will give these to the municipalities that have not yet received any Pfizer so when the bulk of the supplies arrive, they will be trained and they really know how to process the Pfizer vaccine which is a very delicate vaccine)," said Assistant Secretary Wilben Mayor, head of NTF's sub-task group on current operation.

The newly-delivered Pfizer vaccines were donated by COVAX facility. It arrived at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) in Pasay City around 10:20 p.m. via an Air Hong Kong flight.

Unlike other brands, the United States (US)-made Pfizer vaccine requires ultra-low storage temperature. The vaccine has to be stored in special freezers with temperature between -80 degrees Celsius and -60 degrees Celsius when being transported to vaccination centers.

In comparison, Pfizer's cold storage requirement was more complicated than AstraZeneca, Sinovac's CoronaVac, Sinopharm, and Janssen's Johnson and Johnson (J&J) which are usually stored at 2 to 8 degrees Celsius freezers; Sputnik V at -18 degrees Celsius and below; and Moderna at -15 to -25 degrees Celsius.

According to Gavi vaccine alliance, which co-leads the COVAX facility, the complexities of the vaccine "have limited its distribution to just 18 countries" including the Philippines.

So far, there are at least three main hubs that were established in the Philippines where all the vaccines being delivered to the country are kept: one each in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.

From these storage hubs, the vaccines are then delivered to the "spokes" or the specific vaccination areas where the inoculation takes place.

Mayor acknowledged that some LGUs are equipped with cold storage freezers that can preserve the Pfizer vaccine but there are others which aren't.

He said that LGUs which are not yet capable of storing Pfizer vaccine may still receive a supply as long as they will use it on the day of the delivery so as not to spoil it.

"Mayroon naman procedure iyan from point to point, diretso na ang inoculation. Kung walang storage, dapat from the point ng storage, ide-deliver sa lugar at doon mismo from that point sandali lang iyon and immediately i-inoculate na kaagad iyon (We have a point-to-point procedure which is for direct inoculation. If there is no storage, it should be immediately administered from the point of storage to the point of delivery)," Mayor explained.

It is worthy to note that the vials of all vaccines shall be consumed once they are opened. Meanwhile, unopened vials of Pfizer jabs could only be stored at refrigerated temperatures for five days before they are thrown away.

The latest delivery of Pfizer jabs brought the country's total supply to 52,792,130 doses. It includes 5.8 million doses of Pfizer, nearly half of which or 2.66 million came from the donations of COVAX facility.