The Philippines, still reeling from the coronavirus pandemic, has recorded its highest daily vaccination rate since the rollout of the National Vaccination Program in March.
Authorities said the government administered 229,769 vaccine doses on May 20, breaking its previous highest record of 120,529 jabs on May 15.
“We are very happy with this milestone, as we were able to double the number of jabs in less than a week. I am very confident that, with the current pace that we have, we can breach the four million mark by early next week,” said National Task Force against COVID-19 chief implementer and vaccine czar Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr.
Meanwhile, the Philippines logged on Saturday 6,831 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the total to 1,178,217, as three laboratories failed to submit their data on time, the Department of Health reported.
Based on data in the last 14 days, the three non-reporting labs contribute, on average, 0.7 percent of samples tested and 0.9 percent of positive individuals, the DOH said.
The DOH reported 54,326 active cases. Of these cases, 93.6 percent were mild; 1.9 percent were asymptomatic; 1.4 percent were critical; 1.9 percent were severe; and 1.26 percent were moderate.
Nationwide, 60 percent of the ICU beds, 45 percent of the isolation beds, 46 percent of the ward beds, and 38 percent of the ventilators, were in use. of informed consent during Covid-19 vaccination.
As of May 20, a total of 3,718,308 doses have been administered nationwide to priority groups A1 (healthcare workers), A2 (senior citizens), and A3 (persons with comorbidities).
Galvez said the government is eyeing to administer at least two million shots in May following the steady arrival of anti-COVID vaccines.
This target is twice the total number of shots administered in March and April.
“We are now moving past the crawl stage as we begin to walk. However, this is not yet enough as our main goal is to run, where we will be able to administer at least half a million doses or more daily. And I am certain that if we keep this momentum, along with the continuous delivery of vaccines throughout the country, we can make this happen,” said Galvez.
“The pace of the ongoing vaccination we are witnessing right now is unprecedented. We are happy to see that all sectors of society are working together to achieve our common goal of herd immunity by the end of November. The national government, local governments, and the private sector are one in ensuring that we are able to build back a better Philippines,” he said.
“By June, we will expect to have higher outputs when we all join hands in accelerating the vaccination and open our target population from the economic and government frontliners (A4) and indigent/poor communities (A5),” he added.
Sinovac vaccines
On Thursday, May 19, another 500,000 doses of Sinovac vaccines arrived, bringing the country’s total vaccine supply inventory to 8,279,050 since the first vaccine delivery was made in February this year.
According to the vaccine czar, bulk shipments from the COVAX facility and Sputnik V are expected to arrive at the end of this month and in June comprising 2.2 million doses of Pfizer-BioNTech and 300,000 doses of Sputnik V.
A total 10,050,000 doses from different manufacturers are due to arrive, including the supply committed by COVAX before the second quarter ends, Galvez said.
He said Moderna is making its first delivery to the country with 200,000 doses procured by the government and 50,000 doses purchased by the private sector.
AstraZeneca supply
Meanwhile, AstraZeneca is also set to deliver the initial supply procured by the private sector by June with 1.3 million doses.
Sinovac is also shipping out 4.5 million doses to the country, where half a million shots were procured by the Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry Inc.
Sputnik V is also scaling up its delivery in June with at least two million doses, while COVAX will be sending another two million doses of AstraZeneca, according to the vaccine czar.
Galvez said that by the start of the third quarter, vaccine shipments to the country are expected to increase to at least 15 to 20 million doses monthly.
Informed consent
The Commission on Human Rights on Saturday welcomed the statement of the Department of Health that recognizes a person’s inviolable right to informed consent when receiving COVID-19 vaccines.
“This position stresses the four elements of availability, accessibility, acceptability, and quality (also known as the AAAQ Framework) in the enjoyment of the right to health by all,” CHR spokesperson and lawyer Jacqueline Ann de Guia said.
“Time and again we stress that, in ending this pandemic, respect and promotion of human rights must always be at the centre of all government actions. Human rights are not to be compromised but should rather be prioritized. Ending this pandemic, after all, is in pursuit of the people’s right to health and a safe and healthy environment,” de Guia added.
At the same time, de Guia urged the government to strengthen its push in addressing the reasons fueling vaccine hesitancy, including deadly misconceptions, which discourage the public from getting vaccinated.
Cops’ vaccination
The Philippine National Police is preparing for the vaccination of its personnel next month, being under the “A4” (essential frontliners) category on the government’s priority list, the country’s police chief said Saturday.
In a press briefing, PNP chief Gen. Guillermo Eleazar said they had laid down their priority list and were just waiting for their vaccine allocations.
Eleazar will be vaccinated first as the PNP chief, followed by those deployed on the ground, supervisors, and those in charge of administrative work.
The PNP has also deployed some of its medical frontline personnel to Quezon City to assist in vaccinating residents.
Asked if police are allowed to choose brands, Eleazar said 84 percent are “willing” to get vaccinated if they are given their preferred brands.
Missing dose
People who missed the schedule for their second dose of the anti-COVID-19 vaccine should still need to avail themselves of the jab, an infectious disease expert said Saturday.
“If we fail to complete the doses, we can’t expect full protection from the vaccine,” Dr. Anna Lisa Lim of the DOH-Technical Advisory Group said at a public briefing.
While people who missed their schedules need to come back “as soon as possible,” there are no actual dates as to when the second dose could no longer be given.