HEALTHCARE workers, senior citizens, and people with comorbidities will be the recipients of the first batch of bivalent coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccines arriving in the country next month.
The priority list for new generation COVID-19 vaccines is in accordance with conditions set by the vaccine donor, the COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access (COVAX) facility, according to the Department of Health (DOH).
“Once additional doses are secured and available, prioritization may be expanded to other priority groups,” the DOH said in a statement.
Based on the latest data, at least 3 million healthcare workers, who belong to the A1 priority list, have been fully vaccinated with 1.8 million getting booster shots.
As for A2 members or senior citizens, 6.9 million have been fully vaccinated and 2.7 million have received booster shots.
Among persons with comorbidities (A3), records show that 9.4 million have been fully vaccinated, and 3.1 million of them have received booster shots.
The DOH said setting the priority sectors is part of the drafting of guidelines for the use of the bivalent vaccines in the country.
Bivalent vaccines target specific variants of COVID-19, particularly the more transmissible Omicron.
“Currently, different strategies and allocation mechanisms are being studied by DOH, while taking into consideration acceptability, equity, and operational efficiency in utilizing the vaccine,” said the DOH.
The DOH said it is looking to release the full guidelines in time for the roll-out of the bivalent COVID-19 vaccines.
The DOH has secured an initial donation of 1 million doses of bivalent COVID-19 Pfizer vaccines from the COVAX facility.
The doses are expected to arrive in the Philippines before the end of March, according to the DOH.
