Over 700 representatives from key government and private sector partners took part in the Vaccine Logistics Summit on Wednesday, December 16, demonstrating Filipinos are ready to cooperate in rolling out the government’s vaccine program for the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).

To pool the efforts of the government and private sector, the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases, National Task Force (NTF) on Covid-19, Department of Health, and a core group of companies composed of Boston Consulting Group (BCG), Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation (PDRF), AC Health, Unilab, and Zuellig Pharma hosted the country’s first-ever Covid-19 Vaccine Logistics Summit.

The summit aimed to identify critical gaps and challenges, learn from global experts, and build partnerships to strengthen strategies in preparation for the implementation of the vaccine program, which is scheduled to kick off in the first quarter of 2021, according to NTF.

“The morning session involved providing the latest vaccine developments at both international and local scenes from various experts including BCG Managing Directors and Partners Emily Serazin and Josh Kellar, McDonald’s Philippines Managing Director Margot Torres, Sprinklr APAC head of Strategic Alliances Connor Hogan, Asian Development Bank Consultant Ankita Pandey, and International Air Transport Country Manager for the Philippines Samuel David,” a statement from the event’s organizers said.

In his presentation, Vaccine Czar Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. stated that the country is nearing completion of its procurement process and financing for Covid-19 vaccines, and is now preparing the supply chain and distribution and deployment plan.  Priority groups for the initial roll out include health care workers, vulnerable persons, senior citizens, indigents and poor communities.

“In this summit, we see the coordination of all agencies and global organizations that really work together to fight Covid-19. This is very important for us to save lives and to recover the economy as well,” Galvez said.

Moreover, PDRF Chief Resilience Officer Guillermo Luz reiterated the need for public-private partnership and for strong coordination.

“We don’t think the government can do it alone. We don’t think the private sector can do it alone. This requires a very strong partnership as we have seen throughout the journey of T3 (Test, Trace, Treat) as we go from testing to distribution of supplies, PPEs (personal protective equipment), isolation and treatment. Vaccination will be the same thing but even more complex,” he said.

NTF Deputy Chief Implementer Vince Dizon said that the challenges in this critical phase of Covid-19 response will be very daunting.

“With our vaccine experts in the private and public sector, we can provide the most effective, safest vaccines on time. With our experts in logistics, we will be able to efficiently mobilize all their resources to get the vaccine down to the barangay level and in the most remote areas in the country.

Finally, working with the private sector in our past communication efforts, we know we can change mindsets and beliefs and make our people embrace the safe, secure, and effective vaccines which are coming very soon,” he said. CURRENTPH