Philippines on last mile of vax campaign, say DOH

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Health (DOH) is not surprised that lines have dwindled in vaccination sites as the COVID-19 inoculation campaign enters the homestretch.

DOH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said it was expected that the enthusiasm to get the jabs would decline at this point. “We are on to the last mile of our vaccination program. When we say last mile, we are now looking for those who are not yet vaccinated,” she said at a briefing yesterday.

Data showed there are now 64.6 million individuals who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, comprising 71.84 percent of the target population.

On the other hand, some 69.8 million are partially vaccinated, or 77.6 percent of the target population. Some 11.2 million have received their booster shots.

Vergeire noted the strategy now is for vaccinators to go to the communities and workplaces to administer the jabs.

“We are looking for them in different parts of the country. This is really a challenge for us,” she added.

The official said most of the people eligible for vaccines have already been jabbed but they are looking for those who are still hesitant.

Vaccinators are also on the lookout for those who could not access the vaccines due to various reasons such as lack of transportation and geographical concerns.

Meanwhile, National Task Force against COVID-19 chief implementer Carlito Galvez Jr. confirmed yesterday that vaccination numbers are now declining.

A GMA-7 quoted Galvez as saying only five to six million SARS-CoV-2 vaccine doses will possibly be administered this month.

Galvez told President Duterte that continuous decline in vaccination rate has been recorded since November 2021.

“We saw in the early days that we had supply issues, but now we see that we are starting to have a demand issue because the situation in the Philippines is improving, meaning the public is becoming complacent in getting vaccinated,” the vaccine czar said. “We have seen since February our output decreased by more than 50 percent.”

Galvez said the continuous decline of daily vaccination output is attributable to the low turnout for booster shots despite 80 percent vaccination willingness.

For his part, NTF deputy chief implementer Vince Dizon said there were at least nine provinces and highly urbanized cities added to the list of areas under Alert Level 1 due to the result of the fourth wave of the national vaccination drive.

Dizon said among these provinces and cities were Zambales, Nueva Ecija, Batangas, Lucena City, Iloilo City, Cebu City, Ormoc City, Tacloban City and Butuan City.

‘Unvaxxed prone to long Covid’

Unvaccinated individuals are prone to develop long-haul COVID-19, an expert from the Philippine College of Chest Physicians (PCCP) said yesterday.

But PCCP president Imelda Mateo at a media forum noted the same goes for those vaccinated but who have comorbidities that are not controlled.

She cited chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients who already have damage in their airways, which could be aggravated when they contract COVID-19.

“We have the term in pulmonary medicine – the long-haul or long-term COVID sequelae. We see this especially among those who had the severe form and critical form but survived,” she said.

Mateo added they could see “long-term sequelae” in the lungs of these individuals.

Sequelae pertains to the condition which is a consequence of a previous injury or disease.

According to the expert, those who had long-term sequelae could experience “shortness of breath, chronic coughing and chronic sputum production.”

Mateo underscored the need for those with comorbidities to get their fourth dose or second booster against COVID-19 as recommended by the Vaccine Expert Panel.

“The small added protection provided by a fourth dose or a second dose may be useful for special populations such as the moderately and severely immunocompromised,” she said.

She pointed out the interval between the first and second booster doses could be one to three months, depending on the doctor’s assessment of the patients.

“We want to be protected. Let us prepare for another surge because in our nearby countries, cases are increasing again. We want to be protected … (from) another surge by a fourth dose,” Mateo added.

A fourth dose means a person is getting vaccine of the same platform while it is considered second booster if the first two primary series are of a different platform. – Jose Rodel Clapano