March 28, 2024

The expected arrival of vaccines to protect individuals from getting infected of the SARS-CoV2 virus will not automatically make a community resistant from the Covid-19 infection, unless 70 percent of its population is vaccinated, a senior health official said.
In the case of Baguio, City Health Services Officer Rowena Galpo said 190,796 or 80 percent of the city’s estimate population of 378,538 as of 2021 have to be vaccinated to achieve herd immunity.
Herd immunity or population immunity is the indirect protection from an infectious disease that happens when a population is immune either through vaccination or immunity developed through previous infection, according to the World Health Organization.
Baguio is the only local government unit in the Cordillera that will receive vaccines developed by Pfizer-BioNTech, it being the only LGU that has an ultra cold storage facility.
Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines are required to be stored in storage facilities with a temperature of between -80 degrees Celsius and -60 degrees Celsius (or -112 degrees Fahrenheit and -76 degrees Fahrenheit).
The city has come up with a vaccination plan and is set to conduct a simulation next week in preparation for the arrival of the vaccines, although the CHSO and the Department of Health are not yet aware what brand and the volume of doses that will be sent to Baguio.
In the updated vaccination plan of Baguio, there will now be 40 teams to be deployed at the 16 health centers, Philippine Military Academy, and mega vaccination site at the Baguio City High School. The five hospitals will have their own vaccination teams.
The additional teams are volunteers who have been trained by the DOH and CHSO.
Pfizer-BioNTech and AstraZeneca are the only companies granted an emergency use authorization or EUA by the Philippine Food and Drug Administration.
DOH-Cordillera Director Ruby Constantino has assured that eventually, all provinces in the region will be vaccinated with a brand suitable to the climate in the area. She said AstraZeneca vaccines so far only require a storage temperature of two to eight degrees Celsius. She said the refrigeration facilities in health centers, rural health units, and hospitals are capable of storing the vaccines. – Rima-liza A. Opiña