THE 35,100 doses of Pfizer vaccines will be solely deployed to Zamboanga City, a Department of Health (DOH) official announced.

The Pfizer vaccines, which is the first shipment of its kind to the region, are among the 63,100 doses of vaccines that arrived here Tuesday, June 15. The remaining 31,600 doses are Sinovac vaccines.

Dr. Manolo Alpichi, DOH assistant regional director, said Zamboanga City has been chosen for the test run of Pfizer vaccines due to its capability to store medicines, which requires storage in ultra-low temperature freezers.

Alpichi said Pfizer will cover the first and second doses of 17,550 individuals.

The Pfizer vaccines were deposited at the Zamboanga City Medical Center, which has an ultra-low temperature freezer.

Meanwhile, the Sinovac vaccines will be distributed to different municipalities and provinces in Zamboanga Peninsula.

The government has stepped up its vaccination rollout to achieve herd immunity in the soonest possible time. (SunStar Zamboanga)