Wants more jabbed before local campaign starts
BY GERARD NAVAL and JOCELYN MONTEMAYOR
THE Department of Health yesterday said it will intensify vaccination efforts so that more individuals would get their shots for COVID-19 before the campaign period for local candidates starts.
The government is set to hold the fourth phase of the “Bayanihan, Bakunahan” vaccination drive on March 10 to 12.
Health Undersecretary Myrna Cabotaje, head of the National Vaccination Operations Center (NVOC), said the attention of local officials will be “divided” when the campaign for candidates for congressmen and regional, provincial, city, municipal officials starts on March 25.
COVID-19 vaccination activities are mostly conducted by local government units.
Cabotaje said the government needs to step up the vaccination program as there has been a slowdown in recent days.
“Vaccination slackened the past week. We are having difficulty reaching even just 500,000 doses per day, compared to the 1.5 million in the past,” she said.
One of the strategies is the conduct of house-to-house vaccination activities during the fourth National Vaccination Days from March 10 to 12.
“We are targeting about 1.8 million, particularly those who missed their second dose or due for their second dose, the senior citizens, and those eligible for booster doses,” she said.
She also said the NVOC has asked assistance from the police and the military., especially in reaching geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas.
She said “a few private corporations and private sectors” will also help.
Dr. Ted Herbosa, medical adviser of the National Task Force (NTF) against COVID-19, on Saturday reminded senior citizens that one of the criteria for an area to be downgraded to Alert Level 1 is that 80 percent of its senior citizens should be vaccinated.
He also said the government’s Vaccine Experts Panel has recommended a fourth dose or a second booster shot for senior citizens, the immunocompromised, and the healthcare workers.
He said the recommendations are undergoing evaluation by the Department of Health technical working committee.
Herbosa also said the Philippines has started donating COVID-19 vaccines to its Southeast Asian neighbors, especially those with high number of Filipinos.
He said the country has “ample supply.” He said NTF chief Carlito Galvez Jr. told him the government has started declining vaccine donation offers from other countries.
“Wala tayong problema sa supply. In fact, sabi nga sa akin ni Secretary Galvez nagre-refuse pa sila ng donation at nagdo-donate tayo sa iba nating mga kababayan sa Southeast Asia kasi nga ample ang supply natin sa bakuna bakuna (We do not have a problem with supply. In fact, Secretary Galvez told me that they are now refusing donation and instead we are now donating to our countrymen in Southeast Asia because we have ample supply of vaccines),” he said in an interview with radio dzBB.
Details as to how much supply has been donated and to where were not available as of press time.
Last year, President Duterte said the Philippines is donating $1 million to the COVAX Facility to help in vaccine distribution program which aims to provide COVID-19 vaccines to countries with limited access to the drug.
The county has so far received about 227.4 million doses of vaccines, including the 1.6 million doses of reformulated pediatric vaccines bought by the government from Pfizer that arrived on March 4, with around 90 million in storage.
PEDIATRIC VACCINES
Herbosa said the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is expected to release either this week or next week the emergency use authority for a reduced dosage of Sinovac vaccine for minors.
He said once approved, the Sinovac vaccines in storage can be used on minors aged five to 17 years.
At present, only Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are used on 12-to-17-year-olds and a reformulated Pfizer vaccine for five-to-11-year-olds.
The government aims to fully vaccinate and booster some 12.7 million of the age group 12 to 17 and about 15.56 million of the five-to-11 age group by June.
As of March 5, some 135.8 million doses of vaccines have been administered nationwide.
More than 63.68 million are now fully vaccinated and 10.476 million received their booster shots.
The government aims to fully vaccinate 77 million Filipinos against COVID-19 by the end this month, and 90 million by the end of the term of President Duterte in June.
