First Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine doses on the way to Philippines — envoy
MANILA, Philippines — The first shipment of 15,000 doses of the Russian-made COVID-19 vaccine Sputnik V is on the way to the Philippines after logistical challenges hampered the delivery.
In a Facebook post, Philippine Ambassador to Russia Carlos Sorreta said the jabs will arrive in Manila by Saturday.
“First shipment of Sputnik V vaccines (15,000 doses) left today, 29 April, from Moscow and should be in Manila by 1 May,” Sorreta said.
“More to come in the next weeks and months,” he added.
ON ITS WAY. First shipment of Sputnik V vaccines (15,000 doses) left today, 29 April, from Moscow and should be in...
Posted by King Sorreta on Thursday, April 29, 2021
The vaccine doses were originally scheduled to arrive on April 25, but the delivery was pushed back to April 28, before Malacañang confirmed the arrival of the jabs would be delayed again. It cited the lack of direct flights from Russia and the difficulty of keeping the vaccines in sub-zero temperatures as the reasons for the delay.
The country’s Food and Drug Administration approved Sputnik V for emergency use last month, clearing it for use on individuals aged 18 and above once the vaccines arrive.
However, not all local governments will receive Sputnik V doses, as the shots need to be stored at temperatures not exceeding -18°C.
Sputnik V is taken in two doses, and has a 91.6% efficacy rate, according to a peer-reviewed late-stage trial result published in The Lancet medical journal. The vaccine is also completely protective against severe forms of COVID-19.
The Philippines received Thursday another half a million doses of the vaccine developed by China’s Sinovac Biotech.
Vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. has said that most of the country's vaccine supply would consist of the China-made Coronavac, with 4.5 million doses, and Sputnik V, with 4 million doses.
Since the start of the vaccination drive in March, only 246,801 people have been fully vaccinated, while 1.5 million have received their first dose. — Gaea Katreena Cabico with reports from Xave Gregorio
The national government has so far secured two official deals for COVID-19 vaccine supplies in the Philippines, one with Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinovac and another with the Serum Institute of India.
Watch this space for bite-sized developments on the vaccines in the Philippines. (Main image by Markus Spiske via Unsplash)
Health Officer-in-Charge Maria Rosario Vergeire says the general population may now get their second booster jab.
"We're just waiting for the release of implementing guidelines, then we'll start rolling out our second booster for the general population," she says. — Gaea Katreena Cabico
Amid questions on vaccines being administered, the Department of Health assures the public all doses are safe and effective as the “process of extending shelf life goes through thorough stability studies.”
“The government ensures that every vaccine that is injected with an extended shelf life has gone through studies, and is still safe and effective against COVID-19,” it adds.
Government must increase vaccination capacity across the Philippines in anticipation of a surge of COVID-19 cases caused by the Omicron variant of the corona virus, Sen. Risa Hontiveros says.
She says local government units and the private sector can work together to put up more vaccination centers and deploy more vaccination teams to get more people inoculated against COVID-19.
"The active COVID cases have nearly doubled in three days. The positivity rate is almost four times the ceiling set by the World Health Organization. Huwag na nating hintayin na sobrang lumala pa ang sitwasyon bago tayo gumawa ng paraan para mapabilis ang ating pagbabakuna."
FDA chief Eric Domingo says that its agency has given emergency approval for the use of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 5 to 11.
The United States immunized around 900,000 children aged five-to-11 against Covid in the first week the Pfizer vaccine was authorized for them, a White House official says Wednesday.
Roughly 700,000 more have made appointments at pharmacies, White House Covid coordinator Jeff Zients tells reporters.
"The program is just getting up to full strength," he says, adding most of the shots were given in the last couple of days alone. — AFP
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