DOH eyeing cold storage facilities for COVID-19 vaccine per region

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Health (DOH) on Saturday said it is looking to equip each region with a cold storage facility to keep COVID-19 vaccines once they are available

“Ideally, for the cold storage facilities gusto natin na bawat region meron tayong mga hub o storage facilities and kung mamarapatin nga sana per province,” DOH Undersecretary and spokesperson Maria Rosario Vergeire said during the Laging Handa press briefing.

(Ideally, for the cold storage facilities, we want it per region. If it would be possible, we want to have a cold storage facility per region.)

This way, Vergeire said the vaccines will remain effective should it be placed in the cold storage facilities.

Previously, Palace spokesman Harry Roque said the government is preparing for the storage of the vaccines, which have to be stored at -90°C.

Roque said that the government may build more storage facilities, or urge the private sector to invest in their construction, as the country currently has only one facility—the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine in Muntinlupa.

Meanwhile, Vergeire said that there are now three manufacturers, that have applied for the DOH’s regulatory process on the possible COVID-19 vaccine. The manufacturers are Sinovac, Gamaleya, and Janssen.

/MUF