Pro rata jab distribution in provinces ordered

MANILA, Philippines — President Duterte has ordered vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. to implement a proportional distribution of COVID-19 vaccines in areas outside Metro Manila as some provinces grapple with rising cases of infections.

“I am directing Secretary Galvez to make a distribution, like pro rata,” the President said in a pre-recorded public address last Monday.

“Let us divide the vaccines among ourselves since the bulk of the people of the NCR (National Capital Region) already have vaccines. When more vaccines arrive, you divide it among the local government units. I hope it will be done as soon as possible,” he added.

Duterte said among the areas that should receive jabs are Iloilo, Zamboanga, Cagayan and Butuan. While the Philippines does not have ample vaccine supply, the jabs “are coming in bulk now,” the President added.

The Philippines has so far secured a total inventory of 8.3 million doses of COVID-19 jabs, still equivalent to a small percentage of the Philippines’ population of more than 100 million. About 5.1 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been distributed so far.

On Sunday, 50,000 doses of Sputnik V vaccines arrived. The vaccine doses would be delivered to two or three cities with high number of COVID-19 cases, according to the Department of Health.

The Russian-made vaccines were immediately transported to the PharmaServ Express cold storage facility in Marikina City after its arrival at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

Galvez and Russian Ambassador Marat Pavlov welcomed the arrival of the latest batch of Sputnik V vaccine.

Citing health department data, presidential spokesman Harry Roque said the number of infections in the Visayas and Mindanao is rising.

“We understand that we did not impose lockdowns in the Visayas and Mindanao during the first months and perhaps that is the reason why the number of cases in those areas are increasing,” Roque said at a briefing yesterday.

“We remind our brothers and sisters in the Visayas and Mindanao – wear face masks, wash your hands, observe physical distancing and get vaccinated because the new variants are more infectious,” Roque said.

“I am not saying that the cases were exported (by) Manila because we have been implementing a travel bubble in Metro Manila Plus for a long time... I think it’s a rational conclusion that they must have had an increase in community transmission because of the new variants,” he added.

NCR Plus consists of Metro Manila, Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna and Rizal.

Meanwhile, Galvez said the government is ready to insulate from the coming rotational blackouts about 10 million vaccines expected to arrive from the COVAX Facility and pharmaceutical suppliers.

He said the National Task Force Against COVID-19 has tested the readiness of LGUs and third-party providers to manage ultra cold chain system storage facilities, particularly for the vaccines produced by Pfizer, Moderna and Sputnik V.

Galvez’s deputy Vince Dizon said that based on DOH report, the cold storage facilities have backup power source to ensure uninterrupted operations in the event of blackout.

The National Grid Corp. of the Philippines placed the Luzon Grid on alert last Monday, citing thin power supply.

Dizon also noted the tight vaccine supply coming from abroad as only 10 million doses arrived this month from the projected 12 million doses.

“There is very unpredictable global supply, sometimes there are more, some times the supply is less,” he said.