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Pfizer deal huge boost to PH goal of celebrating maskless Xmas

By Azer Parrocha

June 21, 2021, 7:52 pm

<p><em>(PNA file photo)</em></p>

(PNA file photo)

MANILA – Malacañang on Monday is confident the country could inoculate 70 million people by yearend with the arrival of more Covid-19 vaccines.

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque was likewise hopeful that the country could celebrate a “maskless” Christmas following the signing of a supply deal for 40 million doses of the US-manufactured Pfizer jabs.

"Mayroon pong nagtatanong kung darating po iyan ng Agosto. ‘Yung 40 million, aabot ba tayo sa target natin 70 million by December? Syempre po, kasi kung 500,000 per day po iyan, 10 days is 5 million. So kinakailangan lang po natin, 20 days para po maubos iyong first dose ng dumating na 40 million na Pfizer (Some are asking if the 40 million vaccines will arrive on August. Can we meet the target of 70 million vaccinated by December? Of course, because if we do 500,000 jabs per day, 5 million can be administered in 10 days. So we only need 20 days to administer the first dose of the 40 million Pfizer shots),” he said during the Palace press briefing.

Recent government data showed that 12,705,870 Covid-19 vaccine doses of various brands -- Sinovac, AstraZeneca, Sputnik V, and Pfizer -- have already been delivered.

As of June 19, the government has administered 8,222,759 doses, with 2,210,134 already fully vaccinated.

Initially, the government planned to inoculate around 70 million Filipinos to attain population protection by yearend.

However, due to vaccine supply issues, the government adjusted its target and now aims to achieve initial population protection in the National Capital Region (NCR) Plus 8.

Metro Cebu, Metro Davao, Bulacan, Batangas, Cavite, Laguna, Pampanga, and Rizal are the other target areas where Covid-19 cases must be contained.

Meanwhile, Roque welcomed the arrival of medical experts from the Israel Ministry of Health in the Philippines to share their best practices in terms of vaccine rollout.

Ang bansang Israel ang isa sa mga bansa ang nag-lift ng kanilang outdoor face mask policy matapos matagumpay na nabakunahan ang marami sa kanilang populasyon. Siguro po ay importante ang pagbisita nitong ating mga kaibigan galing sa Israel dahil nais din nating magkaroon ng maskless Christmas (Israel is one of the countries that has lifted its outdoor face mask policy after successfully vaccinating a large part of their population. The visit of our friends from Israel is important because we also want to have a maskless Christmas),” he said.

The three Israeli Ministry of Health experts who arrived on Sunday afternoon and were welcomed by vaccine czar Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport were Dr. Avi Ben-Zaken, deputy director of the Medical Technologies, Informatics and Research; Dr. Adam Segal, logistics and operations manager for vaccines; and Dr. Dafna Segol, health care policy and innovation consultant and planner of the Israeli vaccination campaign. (PNA)



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