By Coleen Magahis, Joel E. Zurbano and Rio N. Araja
The Philippines set a new daily record for the number of vaccinations provided in a single day when it recorded 659,029 jabs on Tuesday.
“This was the number of jabs administered last July 27, 2021, another new record high in our national vaccination campaign,” the Department of Health said in a Facebook post.
The country’s average daily vaccination rate had decreased in recent days owing to inclement weather, according to Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire.
Last week, the Philippines set a daily average of 300,000 jabs administered, more than the targeted norm of 200,000.
In other developments:
* The national government assured the people that the safety and delivery of COVID-19 vaccines is not affected by floods, amid the continuous rains in Metro Manila and nearby provinces.
Health Secretary Francisco Duque said all eventualities were covered before the agency entered into an agreement with Pharmaserv Express.
He also assured the safety of the vaccines because they are stored in the higher floors of Pharmaserv’s facility in Barangay San Roque in Marikina City.
Residents on their way to their scheduled vaccination at selected vaccination centers and hubs allowed to operate until 12:00 am are exempted from the curfew hours in Taguig City.
* Cebu Pacific Air (CEB) marked another first in its continuous vaccine transport efforts on Tuesday as it safely hand-carried vaccine doses inflight.
Dumaguete City is the first to receive this type of shipment, while another is scheduled for General Santos today, July 29.
This was made possible through the assistance and approval of the Office for Transportation Security, coordinated through Cebu Pacific as requested by the Gokongwei Group’s official partner for its employee vaccination program, Reliance United.
* The Taguig city government will exempt vaccinees from the 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. curfew hours provided they will show their electronic ticket containing their confirmed schedule.
It said that for group bookings, a singular e-ticket will be issued, and for those scheduled to receive their 2nd dose, their duly issued vaccination card containing the details of their scheduled inoculations can serve as proof.
Taguig joined other local government units in enforcing unified curfew
hours while Metro Manila is under the heightened general community quarantine status amid the threat of the Delta variant of the coronavirus.
* THE Quezon City government has allotted its first supply of Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen vaccine for the elderly in District 2.
Mayor Joy Belmonte said that as part of their target to vaccinate 1.7 million individuals, the city implemented the vaccination of the single-dose Janssen jab in a one-day rollout in the area.
The senior citizens in the thickly populated district must be prioritized amid the threat of the Delta variant and the relatively higher number of COVID-19 patients there, she said.
“District 2 has the greatest number of underprivileged communities, which makes them the most vulnerable to the transmission of the virus and the least able to afford hospital care,” she said.