The government pandemic task force has approved the national coronavirus vaccine roadmap and formed a new cluster to implement the immunization program in anticipation of the development of the life-saving medicine.

The new COVID-19 vaccine cluster will be chaired by recently appointed vaccine czar presidential peace adviser Carlito Galvez Jr., whose duties include supervising the acquisition, price negotiation, storage, and distribution of safe and cost-effective coronavirus vaccines.

The latest decision was reached by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases during a meeting Thursday, according to presidential spokesman Harry Roque.

"Inapubrahan din ng IATF ang Philippine National COVID-19 Vaccination Roadmap and Implementation Plan (The IATF likewise approved the Philippine National COVID-19 Vaccination Roadmap and Implementation Plan)," Roque, reading the latest Resolution No. 83 from the IATF, said during the “Laging Handa” public briefing Friday.

The seven-point national vaccination roadmap was presented by Galvez to President Duterte and other Cabinet members.

The roadmap starts with the scientific evaluation and selection of the COVID vaccine as well as access and acquisition, which Galvez hopes would be completed by November or December 2021. The next stages are the procurement; production, shipment, and storage; distribution and deployment; implementation a nationwide vaccination; and assessment, evaluation, and monitoring. Galvez aims the third to seven stages will begin by the first quarter of 2021.

After the President designated Galvez as vaccine czar, Roque said the IATF has restructured the National Task Force Against COVID-19 to establish the vaccine cluster. The new cluster will include executive committee members and advisory groups, different task groups, with specific roles and responsibilities.

Due to the last reorganization, Roque said the COVID-19 Immunization Program Management Organizational Structure approved by the IATF last Oct. 26 has been abolished.

The President had earlier said he wanted Galvez as the sole authority to lead the government's vaccine purchase and distribution effort. Duterte said he did not want the creation of committees that supposedly tend to slow down the process.

Also in the meeting, Roque said the IATF has identified the 12 duties of Galvez as vaccine czar in Resolution No. 83. His tasks ranged from facilitating the early registration of safe coronavirus vaccines, facilitating procurement and supply chain and storage, to serving as spokesman on vaccine issues.

The summary of duties of the vaccine czar are:

1. Stewardship. He is expected to coordinate across various agencies, actors, and technical working groups on behalf of the Department of Health;
2. Safety and efficacy. He will facilitate the early issuance of the Certificate of Product Registration with the Food and Drugs Administration;
3. Cost-effectiveness. He will facilitate the timely conduct of Health Technology Assessment (HTA), as necessary;
4. Price negotiation. The vaccine czar will activate price negotiation board subject to HTA’s cost-effective price;
5. Prioritization. He will facilitate consensus on prioritization of vaccine recipients;
6. Delivery system. He will facilitate decision on whether to use private system, develop protocol on accessing vaccines and registration with primary health care providers with health care provider networks (HCPNs), practice guidelines;
7. Surveillance. He is will set up Adverse Events Following Immunization (AEFI) post-marketing surveillance and response;
8. Financing and co-payments. He will coordinate with the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) and legislators, as may be necessary, on budget and co-payment ceilings;
9. Procurement. He will facilitate procurement through various mechanisms allowed under existing laws, rules, and regulations through bilateral, multilateral, and other financial modalities;
10. Supply chain and logistics movement. He is authorized to enter into agreement with third party warehouse and logistics provider, as necessary;
11. Information systems. He will establish the information and technology infrastructure to capture supply chain information as well as to capture system for the distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine;
12. Risk communication and community engagement. He is expected to oversee vaccine risk communication and social preparation and act as spokesperson for vaccine matters.