The Philippines will receive more than 24 million coronavirus vaccine doses for the third week of December, breaking the record for the most weekly vaccine deliveries in the country to date, the country’s vaccine czar said on Monday.
The bulk of the deliveries, apart from procurements by the government and private sector, are donations from the governments of France, Spain, Netherlands, Austria, Sweden, China, United Kingdom, and European Union-member countries through the World Health Organization-led COVAX Facility, Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. said in his report to President Rodrigo Roa Duterte during the President’s weekly “Talk to the People”.
Of the 24 million doses that will be delivered, 2.3 million was supposed to arrive Monday night and the 8.2 million will be delivered Tuesday, while the 10 million doses will arrive Wednesday, Galvez said, adding more or less 3 million will also come in.
The 4.9 million doses from Pfizer form part of the 18 million doses, which are supposed to be delivered by the pharmaceutical company this December.
The Moderna jabs, on the other hand, are donations from COVAX facility, which Galvez said, will be administered to minors as well as booster shots for the healthcare workers and those with comorbidities.
China will be donating another 2 million doses of CoronaVac jabs, Galvez said, thanking the Asian giant for completing its more or less 50 million doses vaccine deliveries.
In addition, there will 2.9 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccines being procured by the LGUs and by the private sector as well as those donated by the UK and other countries.
Galvez, who is also the National Task Force on COVID-19 chief implementer, expressed his gratitude to the COVAX vaccine-sharing platform and other countries for donating COVID-19 vaccines.
With the expected deliveries, Galvez made an assurance that the government can expand its vaccination drive by administering boosters. He told President Duterte that the government has completed its inventory up to the mid-2022.
“Iyong ating procurement and other donations, ‘yung incoming president po wala na pong problema sa vaccine dahil ‘yung ating ginagamit na vaccine ay ‘yung dine-deliver ngayon para po next year na po ‘yun. Ilalaan na po natin ‘to for next year, for the rest of our milestone,” said Galvez.
“Plantsado na po ‘yung ating procurement and other deployment to 2022 year of administration,” he added.
The country now has 41 million fully vaccinated individuals, representing 53.20 percent of the target population. Pediatric vaccination is also making headway with more than 7 million minors aged 12 to 17 having received the first dose while 2.1 million getting two doses.
COVID-19 jabs will soon be available for children aged 5 to 11 once vaccine manufacturers successfully amend their emergency use authorization (EUA) issued for unregistered drugs and vaccines during a public health emergency.
Metro Manila has broken vaccine hesitancy by fully inoculating 102 percent of its elderly population, according to Galvez. At the same time, it recorded 111 percent for the first dose, which means the region vaccinated both the young people and the elderly.
Following the National Vaccination Day, more regions have increased their capacities. Now, there are six regions with 70 percent of the first dose, the vaccine czar reported.
The administration eyes to inoculate 77 million Filipinos against the deadly coronavirus by the end of the first quarter next year and fully vaccinate 90 million individuals before the President’s term ends. PND
