It has been 23 years since the Department of Health conducted its largest inoculation drive involving 22.9 million Filipinos aged 9 to 14 for the measles-rubella supplemental immunization activity, according to Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Singh-Vergeire.
In 2021, the health department along with the Vaccine Cluster of the National Task Force against COVID-19 will carry out a herculean task, bringing 148 million vaccine doses to 50 million to 70 million adult Filipinos at over 4,000 vaccination sites nationwide.
VERA Files Fact Check takes a deep dive into the different aspects of the Philippines’ COVID-19 vaccination program.
Find out what it will take for the government to adequately deliver and distribute the vaccines to Filipinos in the first episode of this video series:
Check out these sources
National Task Force vs. COVID-19, Philippine National Vaccine Roadmap, Jan. 31, 2021
Department of Health, Beat COVID-19 Media Forum, Dec. 21, 2020
Department of Health, Beat COVID-19 Media Forum, Dec. 29, 2020
Department of Health, PH RECEIVES CONFIRMATION OF COVAX PARTICIPATION; SOH, VACCINE CZAR INSPECT 3 COLD CHAIN FACILITIES IN PREPARATION FOR ROLLOUT | Department of Health website, Jan. 20, 2021
Department of Health, Beat COVID-19 Media Forum, Jan. 22, 2021
Department of Health, Beat COVID-19 Media Forum, Jan. 25, 2021
Senate of the Philippines, Committee on the Whole, Jan. 11, 2021
Senate of the Philippines, Committee on the Whole, Jan. 15, 2021
Senate of the Philippines, Committee on the Whole, Jan. 22, 2021
Radio Television Malacanang, #LagingHandaPH Public Briefing, Jan. 13, 2021
Philippine Television, #LagingHandaPH Public Briefing, Feb. 3, 2021
Department of Health, PH CONDUCTS FULL-SCALE SIMULATION EXERCISE TO SHOWCASE READINESS FOR VACCINE ARRIVAL AND DEPLOYMENT, Feb. 9, 2021
Science Magazine, Temperature concerns could slow the rollout of new coronavirus vaccines, Nov. 16, 2020
The Scientific American, The COVID Cold Chain: How a Vaccine Will Get to You, Nov. 19, 2020
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Storage Best Practices for Frozen Vaccines-Celsius (C)
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Storage Best Practices for Refrigerated Vaccines–Celsius (C)
AstraZeneca, https://www.astrazeneca.com/media-centre/press-releases/2020/azd1222hlr.html, Nov. 22, 2020
Moderna, Moderna Announces Longer Shelf Life for its COVID-19 Vaccine Candidate at Refrigerated Temperatures | Moderna, Inc., Nov. 16, 2020
Johnson & Johnson, Questions About Johnson & Johnson’s Investigational COVID-19 Vaccine Candidate, Jan. 5, 2021
Pfizer, COVID-19 Vaccine US Distribution Fact Sheet, Nov. 20, 2020
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine Storage and Handling Summary pdf icon
South China Morning Post, Coronavirus vaccine developed in China induces quick immune response, Nov. 18, 2020
BBC News, Covid: What do we know about China’s coronavirus vaccines?, Jan. 14, 2021
Reuters, Sinovac’s COVID-19 vaccine induces quick immune response – study, Nov. 18, 2020
Sputnik V, The cost of one dose of the Sputnik V vaccine will be less than $10 for international markets
Pan-American Health Organization, Vaccine Storage and Handling
Research Institute for Tropical Medicine, DOH designates RITM as the National Vaccines Storage Facility
UNICEF, COVAX: ensuring global equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines
UNICEF, Supplying the fight against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) | UNICEF Supply Division
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Vaccine Storage and Handling Resources
World Health Organization, Manufacturing, safety and quality control of vaccines
World Health Organization, The vaccine cold chain
