MANILA, Philippines — The government will tap a third party service provider to ensure the efficient distribution of COVID-19 vaccines.
The Department of Information and Communications Technology was tasked to hire the services of a qualified service provider for the COVID-19 vaccine information management system (VIMS), according to Resolution No. 96 issued by the government's pandemic task force last January 26.
The service provider is expected to perform tasks related to design approval, information technology project implementation, and service management of the VIMS to ensure accurate, timely, and efficient distribution and administration of the COVID-19 shots.
"The Department of Information and Communications Technology shall be authorized to formulate the standards to determine whether or not a third party service provider is qualified to undertake the required services required in the VIMS," the resolution read.
The VIMS will be the key process automation and data capture, storage, processing, and analytics system for the immunization administration and supply chain management of the COVID-19 vaccines. Its functions include citizen vaccination capture and automation; management and automation provider; supply chain management; and dashboarding, reporting, and analytics.
The Philippines has signed contracts to buy COVID-19 shots doses from Sinovac, Serum Institute of India, and AstraZeneca. It also aims to close supply agreements with pharmaceutical forms Moderna, Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson and the Gamaleya Institute. The Duterte administration expects the first batch of COVID-19 vaccines to be delivered next month.