THE Department of Health (DOH) yesterday said only 69 percent of bivalent coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccines donated to the Philippines have been used.
In a press conference, DOH spokesman Undersecretary Eric Tayag said this is a 20 percent increase on the utilization of the bivalent doses.
“As of August 14, over 269,000 vaccines have already been jabbed. This is 69 percent of the 390,000 total doses,” said Tayag, adding: “This means that we are close to using up all of the donated vaccines.”
The health official attributed the sudden surge in the bivalent jab uptake to the expanded coverage of the vaccine.
This after the DOH included the immunocompromised individuals to the healthcare workers and senior citizens as among those eligible to the bivalent jabs.
With supplies close to running low, Tayag urged all eligible individuals to get inoculated with the bivalent doses immediately since arrival of the next batch of bivalent jabs is still unknown.
“We call on those eligible to sign up and line up already because the supplies are running out already,” said Tayag.
It was back in June 21 when the DOH launched the use of the bivalent COVID-19 vaccines in the country. The DOH has said it wants to use the entirety of the donated doses by August.
Tayag explained that using up all the bivalent jabs available will help the country in seeking additional donated vaccines.
“We want to use them up immediately because we want to avoid being questioned why we are asking for more donations when we still have supplies available,” he explained.
Tayag said the country is currently asking for 1.5 to 2 million doses of the bivalent jabs from the COVAX Facility.
At the same time, Tayag renewed the DOH’s call for vigilance against COVID-19 after the World Health Organization (WHO) noted an increase in cases globally.
Tayag said it is imperative for the public to maintain caution against COVID-19 as its threat remains present despite no longer having an “emergency” status.
“This serves as a warning to countries that the pandemic is not yet totally over. Even though the emergency status is already lifted, it does not mean that we should no longer be vigilant. We should remain cautious. We must continue to report COVID-19 cases,” he said.
The health official said foremost of which is the continued use of face masks.
“Even though there is no more mask mandate, we expect the public to still wear masks if deemed necessary. Let us continue being careful,” said Tayag.
The DOH issued the call after the WHO reported almost 1.5 million new COVID-19 cases globally in the last four weeks or from July 10 to August 6, 2023.
This, the WHO noted, is 80 percent higher compared to the previous 28-day period.
In the Philippines, Tayag noted how 910 cases were recorded nationwide for the period of August 8 to 14.
Most of the cases were detected in Metro Manila, Calabarzon, Central Luzon, Davao Region, and Northern Mindanao.
Similarly, the health official said new COVID-19 variants continue to pose threat to public health.
Tayag related that 12 cases of the Omicron subvariant “Eris” (EG.5) have been detected in the Philippines.
