Vaccine
czar reports smooth vaccination drive as more COVID-19 jabs arrive
The government’s vaccination strategy is going well with a steady supply of vaccines and aggressive daily vaccination, the country’s vaccine czar said on Monday.
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Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation, and Unity (PAPRU) and National Task Force against Coronavirus Disease-2019 (NTF COVID-19) chief implementer Carlito Galvez Jr. gives updates to President Rodrigo Roa Duterte during the meeting with the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) core members at the Arcadia Active Lifestyle Center in Matina, Davao City on June 21, 2021. JOEY DALUMPINES/ PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO
In his report to President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. said the country has breached the eight million mark of administered doses last week, putting Philippines in second place among Association of Southeast Asian Nations member countries for the most administered vaccine doses daily, 13th in the entire Asia, and 31st among 200 countries.
Galvez,
who is also the National Task Force Against COVID-19 chief implementer, said
that the Philippines has successfully closed a deal with pharmaceutical giant
Pfizer, securing 40 million vaccine doses.
The
vaccine czar said the supply agreement with Pfizer is “one of the best” deals
that the Philippine negotiating team has finalized.
Additionally,
the Philippines is expecting to receive another four million vaccine doses
before the end of June. China’s Sinovac Biotech will deliver 1.5 million doses
on June 24, while Moderna is also expected to send vaccine shipment on June
27.
On
the same month, the country may also receive vaccine doses donated by the
United States as well as AstraZeneca doses from World Health Organization-led
COVAX facility.
For
July, the Philippines may receive 4.5 to six million doses from Sinovac, a
total of four million doses of Pfizer and AstraZeneca from COVAX facility, and
at least one million doses of Sputnik V from Russia.
The
country will continue to receive a steady supply of vaccines in the next
quarter, Galvez said.
Local
government units (LGUs) are scaling up their daily capacities, particularly in
the rural areas and in highly urbanized cities, Galvez reported.
“At
nakakatuwa nga po dahil kasi ‘yong ibang mga LGU talaga they are increasing
their capacity and they are mobilizing all the different stakeholders,” he told
the President.
The
government has so far vaccinated 96 percent of the country’s healthcare workers,
with 1.5 million getting the first jab. More than one million healthcare
workers are now fully vaccinated.
The
number of senior citizens and those with comorbidities receiving COVID-19 shot
has also increased, with two million for each category. PND
