Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 24) — Israeli health experts have offered suggestions on how the country could improve its national vaccine program to fight COVID-19.
Among their recommendations are centralized vaccine storage hubs, and making the right preparations to distribute the vaccines to far-flung areas.
“The Philippines needs more hubs since it is an archipelago. You should go for creating centralized hubs for Pfizer vaccines based on the ability to reach a certain population, and possibly with a customized approach in more remote areas,” said Adam Segal, logistics and operations manager of Salomon Levid & Elstein Ltd., in a statement released by the National Task Force on Thursday.
Modifying packaging also helped keep the vaccines safe and secure, Segal added.
Another best practice shared by the three-member Israeli team in their country’s vaccine information system was a so-called “traffic light” model, where authorities are able to pinpoint areas needing immediate action.
“It allows us to focus on cities that need more attention,” according to Dafna Segol.
Health Undersecretary Ma. Carolina Vidal-Taiño said the information from the meetings with the experts will help the government improve the vaccine rollout.
“As we prepare for the arrival of the 40 million vaccines from Pfizer, the sharing of best practices and strategies from our Israeli partners will be a learning opportunity that we can adopt in our practice,” Vidal-Taiño said.
The Israeli experts arrived in the country on June 20 to help strengthen the Philippines’ approach in combating COVID-19.
In an earlier statement, Vaccine czar Carlito Galvez, Jr. said the Philippine government is looking to adopt Israel’s ways in boosting its coronavirus vaccine program.
