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VERA FILES FACT SHEET: What it takes to deliver the COVID-19 vaccines in the Philippines

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:

 

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, UNICEF outlining plans to transport up to 850 tonnes of COVID-19 vaccines per month on behalf of COVAX, in ‘mammoth and historic’ logistics

UNICEF, COVAX: ensuring global equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines

UNICEF, COVAX Update: UNICEF working with global airlines and freight providers to plan delivery of 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

 

(Guided by the code of principles of the International Fact-Checking Network at Poynter, VERA Files tracks the false claims, flip-flops, misleading statements of public officials and figures, and debunks them with factual evidence. Find out more about this initiative and our methodology.)