Government officials have recognized the challenge they will face once the COVID-19 vaccines are available for purchase, as its importation and storage set-up and distribution for mass immunization will not be easy.
The potential coronavirus vaccine should be kept in a cold storage facility, where they would be frozen at around -90 degrees Celsius, said Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque.
The Philippines has only one such facility at the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine in Muntinlupa, he said.
“Matindi rin iyong paghamon ‘pag lumabas na ang bakuna. Ngayon pa lang, ang talagang mensahe ni Presidente, maghanda na tayo— so iyong mga detalye, hindi lang iyong perang pambili,” he said.
[The challenge will be great when the vaccine comes out. The President has said we should prepare the details, not just the funds.]
“Ang challenge ngayon talaga e iyong storage saka iyong logistics ng pagpapdala rito ng gamot at saka iyong distribution network,” he added.
[The challenge now really is the storage and logistics of sending the drug here and the distribution network.]
The Philippines recorded on Monday 2,638 new coronavirus infections and 26 additional deaths. Total confirmed cases climbed to 359,169, while the death toll rose to 6,675, the health department said in a bulletin. Total recoveries increased to 310,303, it said.
