LGUs must have necessary infra for an effective vaccine rollout—President Duterte
President Rodrigo
Roa Duterte talks to the people after holding a meeting with the Inter-Agency
Task Force on the Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) core members at the
MalacaΓ±ang Golf (Malago) Clubhouse in MalacaΓ±ang Park, Manila on May 13, 2021.
RICHARD MADELO/ PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO
Local government units should have the necessary infrastructure to conduct mass inoculation drive and avoid wastage, President Rodrigo Roa Duterte said on Thursday.
“We
know that you can do it but see to it that the mechanism, ‘yong infrastructure
ninyo sa baba kailangan must be able to come up with the numbers required kasi
itong mga bakuna may expiry date. It cannot be effective forever. The efficacy
loses in a less period of time than other medications,” President Duterte said
during his public address on government response on COVID-19.
“So
kailangan pagdating doon sa inyo mapatakbo na kaagad ninyo ‘yong administrative
pati siguro mga local --- may mga hospital. Magtulung-tulungan na lang so that
we would not waste the vaccines because we were not able to deliver it on
time.”
It
would be a problem if the vaccines expire due to lack of infrastructure on the
part of the LGUs who are supposed to facilitate giving the shot to the targeted
population on time, the President said.
Some
vaccines are so sensitive that require certain temperature to maintain their
efficacy such as Pfizer BioNTech and Moderna.
“I
am just saying this because I do not want to lose the battle here through
negligence,” he stressed. “Alam ninyo, you --- mga doktor all throughout alam
nila ‘yan. It’s a very simple way of explaining to the people. The only problem
is you are not able to administer the vaccines on time because there is a
limited period of time for their effectiveness.”
The
national government has presented to the private sector and LGUs its focus and
expand strategy, aimed at prioritizing areas with high economic, social, and
health risks, Secretary Carlito Galvez said in his report to the President.
Health
experts have already identified those areas, Galvez said, noting the government
will provide steady supply of vaccines in those jurisdictions once the bulk of
supplies arrive.
Among
those areas include the so-called NCR Plus, Metro Cebu, and Metro Davao.
For
the NCR Plus, the vaccine czar said there’s a need to allocate 3.3 million
every month. For Davao and Cebu, the allocation should be 400,000 each month.
He
predicted that once this monthly allocation is reached, herd immunity could be
achieved by November or by December.
Similar
initiatives will be done in Central Luzon, Mimaropa, Calabarzon, Cagayan de Oro
City, Baguio City, Cagayan Valley, CAR and Zamboanga.
“Ang
gagawin po talaga natin is ‘yong tinatawag nating for focus targeting para
‘yong centers of gravity iyon kaagad ang ating i-strengthen para ‘yong risk
mawala po, sir, ang risk,” he said.
“Mawala
rin ang economic risk at puwede na po tayong mag-open ng ating economy. Iyon po
ang ating strategy po na gagawin, Mr. President.”
The
government has so far administered 2.6 million doses with a nationwide daily
average of 83,000.
The
government has a total vaccine inventory of 7.7 million doses and was able to
put up 3,458 vaccination sites. PND
