LA TRINIDAD, Benguet(PIA)--The province of Benguet  enhances  its  COVID -19  vaccination  program  with the  provincial government  purchasing  an  ultra-low temperature freezer for the safe storage of some brands of vaccines like Pfizer.

Governor Melchor Diclas said the new   freezer that is capable of storing COVID-19 vaccines that require storage at -70 degrees Celsius is expected to arrive in the province in the coming week.  It has the capacity to store 10,000 doses or vials of vaccines.

 At the moment, the freezers at the Benguet Provincial Health Office are storing   Sinovac  and Astra Zeneca vaccines being sent to the different towns in the province.

Meanwhile, the Governor said the Benguet Provincial Inter Agency Task Force is asking    the National IATF and the Department of Health to provide more COVID-19 vaccines for the province.

Diclas said that in the past weeks, more people in the different municipalities have been lining up to get their doses of COVID-19 vaccines. He said  there is a need for the national government to provide more vaccines to the provinces   to be able to vaccinate more people   to attain  herd immunity which is being aimed to end the corona virus

 As of June 30, 2021,   26,209 vaccines were  allocated to  the province   with 96.43 percent utilization for the first dose and 52.67% for the second dose.  (JDP/ RMC- PIA  CAR)