'NCR Plus', Cebu, Davao to get most of 400,000 Sinovac COVID-19 jabs
MANILA, Philippines — Most of the additional COVID-19 vaccines donated by China will be allocated to healthcare workers in areas most affected by more transmissible COVID-19 variants, Malacañang said Friday.
Medical frontliners in Metro Manila, Cavite, Laguna, Rizal, Bulacan, Cebu City and Davao City will benefit from the additional 400,000 doses of CoronaVac, the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Chinese drugmaker Sinovac Biotech.
Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said this was the decision of the National Immunization Technical Advisory Group. NITAG is a group of experts responsible for providing independent, evidence-informed advice to policymakers on issues related to vaccination.
Current vaccination efforts are focused on health workers, with more than 500,000 so far receiving first doses since the program began on March 1. The government is aiming to inoculate 1.8 million health workers across the country.
The second batch of CoronaVac, which arrived in the country Wednesday, is in addition to the initial 600,000 doses that were delivered last February 28.
The Philippines also received 525,600 doses of the jab developed by AstraZeneca through the vaccine-sharing initiative COVAX Facility.
Reports of unauthorized vaccinations and non-medical workers jumping the line have marred the government’s inoculation campaign. Authorities have repeatedly asked ordinary Filipinos as well as public servants to respect the prioritization framework because failing to do so may jeopardize the country’s allocation in the COVAX Facility.
The vaccination of health workers comes at a time when the country is dealing with a new surge in COVID-19 cases. To date, the Philippines 693,048 confirmed infections, of which 14.4% are active.
Authorities blamed the alarming spike in cases to decreased compliance with health protocols as well as the circulation of more infectious coronavirus variants.
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