MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines is looking to inoculate around 450,000 people against COVID-19 daily by next month, the Department of Health said Wednesday.
"We're looking at 4,500 vaccination sites with each site vaccinating 100 individuals," Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said in an interview with ANC's "Headstart," referring to the government's goals for April.
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"So we’re looking at 450,000 vaccinees per day...as soon as the vaccines have come."
More than two weeks after the government kicked off its vaccination program, Duque revealed that some 215,997 healthcare workers, of the 1.7 million identified by the government, have already been vaccinated.
He added that the government is looking to use up the remaining Sinovac and AstraZeneca jabs, donated by China and the COVAX facility respectively, by end-March.
Additional shipments of 900,000 vaccines from AstraZeneca and 1.4 million jabs from Sinovac are expected to arrive between the last week of March and the first week of April, according to Duque, who said the jabs "should already suffice to complete our vaccination of the most prioritized group...healthcare workers."
Once the prioritized group of healthcare workers are inoculated, he added, the government will go on to vaccinate some 9.7 million senior citizens.
Why does this matter?
The Philippines' vaccination program has been slow-going, hampered by unfinished deals with manufacturers and the slow distribution of the donated vaccines available.
So far, the country has only signed one purchase agreement—for one million doses of Sinovac. It has also signed a supply agreement with Novovax for 30 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine.
At the current pace of inoculation, Sen. Panfilo Lacson warned last week, it would take 11 years and eight months, or until 2033, for herd immunity to be achieved.
Dr. Tony Leachon, former coronavirus task force adviser and public health expert, has also been sounding the alarm over the need to slow the transmission of COVID-19 and ramp up vaccination as the country experiences a spike in cases.
"[Enhanced community quarantine] to rapidly slow down the virus with usual science-based approach [for] two weeks then accelerated vaccination program," Leachon urged on Twitter last week.
ECQ to rapidly slow down the virus with usual science based approach x two weeks then accelerated vaccination program : this should be the game plan of the government with definite timelines.We need to sacrifice one more time with the goal of succeeding this time. @iampinglacson https://t.co/o7fQx1vPJW
— Tony Leachon MD (@DrTonyLeachon) March 12, 2021
"[T]his should be the game plan of the government with definite timelines. We need to sacrifice one more time with the goal of succeeding this time."
Following several record-breaking spikes logged this month, the Philippines' COVID-19 caseload is now at 631,320 and its death toll stands at 12,848. — Bella Perez-Rubio