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MANILA – The Philippines has hit the 12 million mark in administering doses of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) vaccines as of Tuesday, National Task Force Against Covid-19 Vivencio Dizon said.
During a press conference in Clark Freeport Zone, Dizon said in the past week alone, the government administered 2 million doses of vaccines nationwide.
“So this is really proof that we continue to ramp up our vaccine rollout,” he said in Filipino.
Government officials held the ceremonial vaccination for the A4 group in Central Luzon in the Clark Freeport Zone on Tuesday.
Clark Freeport Zone alone has around 120,000 employees from 1,200 firms operating inside the special economic zone.
Delay in shipment
With the delay in shipment of the Sinovac vaccine from China, Dizon said local government units (LGUs) were directed to prioritize administering the second shot of Sinovac jabs.
“We didn’t stop the vaccination, but our priority now is giving the second dose. As what (Health) Secretary (Francisco) Duque (III) is saying, it’s important to give the full vaccine so they can get the protection, especially our senior citizens and those with comorbidities,” he said in Filipino.
The first shipment of Sinovac vaccine for this month is expected to arrive on July 18, the NTF official added.
“You know, the cause of the delay --not just Sinovac-- but all vaccines in the world, is the lack of supply. Right now, there is a huge demand for vaccines around the world especially in rich countries, and sadly, the bulk of supply goes to rich countries. So, we, the not-so-rich countries like the Philippines, are a bit behind in getting supplies,” Dizon said.
Protocols working against Delta variant
Amid the concerns on a more infectious Delta variant of Covid-19, Dizon said the minimum health standards remain the country’s protection against the new variant.
“(T)he Delta variants we discover come from returning overseas Filipinos; we have yet to see community transmission. And that means, our protocols are working and we are able to detect them upon entering the country. And because of our quarantine (protocols), we are able to protect our community,” he added.
With the threats of the Delta variant, Dizon underscored the need to accelerate the vaccine rollout to protect the population from getting hospitalized due to Covid-19. (PNA)
