The Philippine government is yet to formally tap the country’s cold chain industry for the handling and distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine in the country.
Anthony Dizon, president of the Cold Chain Association of the Philippines (CCAP), said in a phone interview that the industry is still waiting for the government to accept the industry’s offer to play a role in the distribution of COVID-19 vaccine.
CCAP is a multi-sectoral group of companies involved in the handling, storage, and distribution of chilled and frozen food, among other products.
According to Dizon, the industry, “individually and collectively”, has more than enough capacity to participate in the country’s COVID-19 vaccine distribution program.
Right now, he said the cold chain industry’s total cumulative capacity stood at 500,000 pallet containers, while the initial 20 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine will consume only less than 200 pallets.
“Our initial estimate is that even if we are called upon to play a role in the storage of the vaccine, it will constitute a small portion of our capacity,” Dizon said.
“The industry is just waiting for the government to approach us,” he added.
In a previous report, National Task Force Against COVID-19 Chief Implementer and Vaccine Czar Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. said the government is now in discussion with the private sector regarding the state-led distribution of COVID-19 vaccine.
"I'm thankful to the private sector for throwing their support to us, like what they did when we ramped up our testing capacity," said Galvez.
On the part of CCAP, however, Dizon said that no official dialogue has so far taken place between the organization and the government regarding this matter.