Gov’t tapping at least 28 cold chain providers for COVID-19 vaccines, official says

January 19, 2021

The government is tapping 28 cold chain providers and talking with five more others in time for the purchase of vaccines against coronavirus disease, an official said on Tuesday.

In a televised press briefing, Bases Conversion and Development Authority president and CEO Vivencio Dizon, who is also the COVID-19 testing czar, said since last year, the government has been talking with various logistics and cold storage companies, such as Orca, Royal Cargo, and Zuellig.

"Currently, we have already talked with 28 cold chain providers and we're also talking to five more," he said.

He said the government needs "very special facilities" when the vaccines arrive in the country.

The government is eyeing the first batches of COVID-19 vaccines from various pharmaceutical companies to be delivered by next month.

"This is what they call as pharma-grade chain facilities or pharma-grade cold storage facilities and these more than 30 are the biggest companies with such capacity," said Dizon.

Dizon said that Vaccine Czar Carlito Galvez Jr. and the Department of Health will also talk with more companies and associations, such as the Cold Chain Association of the Philippines, especially in the provinces.

Starting Wednesday, he said Galvez and other members of the National Task Force Vaccine Cluster will visit various facilities.

The government is targeting 148 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines from various pharmaceutical companies.

Authorities have said that each brand of COVID-19 vaccine has its own required storage temperature to maintain their efficacy. Celerina Monte/DMS