MANILA, Philippines — The country’s initial doses of Russia’s Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine will be used in several hospitals and vaccination centers in five Metro Manila cities, the Department of Health said Monday.
DOH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said the following hospitals and inoculation facilities will get the first 15,000 doses of Sputnik V to inoculate healthcare workers and people with comorbidities:
Makati
- Makati Coliseum
Taguig
- Lakeshore Vaccination Hub
Parañaque
- Ayala Malls Manila Bay
Manila
- Sta. Ana Hospital
- Ospital ng Maynila
Muntinlupa
- Ospital ng Muntinlupa
- Asian Hospital Medical Center
The first batch of Sputnik V jabs, which arrived last Saturday, will be used in a “pilot run” to assess the country’s logistics capability to handle highly-sensitive vaccines. Sputnik V jabs need to be stored at -18 °C and be kept as a frozen solution.
In a briefing, Vergeire said it was the first time that the Philippines has received a vaccine with this kind of storage requirement.
“We will look at [the sites’] experience and improve what needs to be improved,” Vergeire said in a briefing.
The remaining 485,000 doses are expected to arrive within the month.
The country’s Food and Drug Administration approved Sputnik V for emergency use in March, clearing it for use on individuals aged 18 and above. It has an efficacy rate of 91.6%, according to a peer-reviewed late-stage trial result published in The Lancet medical journal.
Vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. said the government has secured 10 million doses from the Russian manufacturer.
The Philippines has so far received over 4 million vaccine doses, a bulk of which were from China’s Sinovac.
Since the start of the country’s vaccination program in March, only 284,553 individuals have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, a far cry from the government's target of 70 million by the end of the year.
Meanwhile, 1.65 million people have received their first dose of either the AstraZeneca or Sinovac vaccine. — Gaea Katreena Cabico