LGUs told to prep vax storage for anticipated bulk delivery

MANILA – The remaining months of the year will see the delivery of highly sensitive Covid-19 vaccines and the National Task Force (NTF) reminded local government units (LGUs) to be prepared.

NTF Chief Implementer Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. said if LGUs need to upgrade their cold storage facilities, they should do so now.

“These types will comprise the bulk of our supply inventory in the remaining months of 2021,” he said in a statement on Friday.

The vaccine czar said more than 70 million doses of Covid-19 jabs requiring sub-zero temperature, procured by the national government and the private sector, and those being distributed by the World Health Organization-led COVAX Facility, are expected in the succeeding months.

“As we work on increasing our monthly vaccine deliveries from various sources, we are also keen on ensuring our LGUs are ready to accept highly sensitive vaccines like Moderna and Pfizer,” Galvez said.

The COVAX Facility has already delivered 10,297,060 doses of AstraZeneca, Pfizer, and Johnson&Johnson vaccines since March.

About 5.26 million doses more will be arriving this month and four million doses in August.

To date, the Philippines has 33,860,700 doses, with a total of 20,008,331 doses already administered.