Filipinos turning down vaccines as COVID-19 cases decline — DOH

MANILA, Philippines — The National Vaccination Operations Center is considering donating COVID-19 vaccines close to their expiry dates to other countries as Filipinos have been turning down jabs, it said Sunday morning. 

Speaking in an interview aired over DZBB Super Radyo, Health Undersecretary Myrna Cabotaje, who is chairperson of NVOC, said that this was due to complacency and vaccine hesitancy from Filipinos. 

"Our health workers are really struggling to convince people to get vaccinated...They go from house to house but even though some are at home, they still don't want to get vaccinated," she said in mixed Filipino and English, adding that it could be better to donate to make sure the jabs don't go to waste. 

At the Laging Handa briefing Saturday, Cabotaje also said that the shelf life of Sinovac and Sputnik V were extended for one year and three months, respectively.

"There are 12 to 13 million [AstraZeneca vaccines] recommended by the manufacturer that can still be used within 2 to 3 months...We are just waiting for FDA approval if it's possible for us to still use it," she also said Sunday. 

Cabotaje was careful to assure Filipinos that the government still has a substantial stockpile of vaccines even if some of them will be donated later on. 

National vaccination days miss target

She added that the government was able to vaccinate some 836,000 in the first two days of Bayanihan Bakunahan Part 4, good for around 44% of its 1.8 million target to be vaccinated due to "a lot of factors." 

The government will continue its national vaccination drive until Tuesday in a number of regions, she said but admitted that "there is a problem with the supply of vaccines for children aged 5 to 11 years old."

"Some people still don't get vaccinated or take booster shots due to complacency because COVID-19 cases are low... We're already studying which countries [we can donate to] and what brands they can accept," she also said.

"Everything that can be done has been done to bring the vaccine closer to the public."

Asked if the country is ready for Alert Level 0, Cabotaje said: "NVOC continues to look for strategies to increase the number of those vaccinated...While we will agree to the general consensus that once ready, we will still cooperate in vaccination."

"Vaccination is the main game changer including the minimum health protocols...The economy needs to be balanced so we agreed to reduce to 70% from 80% of senior citizens targeted to be vaccinated [for] more areas to be included in Alert Level 1," she added.