BY JOCELYN MONTEMAYOR and GERARD NAVAL
PRESIDENT Duterte yesterday expressed hope that more Filipinos will get vaccinated against COVID-19 as more Western jabs arrive in the country.
The President welcomed the arrival of three million doses of Moderna vaccines at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport. The vaccines were donated by the US through the global vaccine-sharing scheme COVAX Facility.
The vaccines from COVAX are intended for healthcare and medical frontliners who belong to the A1 priority list of the national vaccination program, senior citizens (A2), persons with comorbidities (A3), and the indigent or poor sector (A5).
“I know that it is the sentiment of America that the vaccines that will be given to the Philippines should go first to those who have the least in life, the poor… ones who cannot afford and… (those) who do not want to be vaccinated, we will try to entice them with the vaccines given by the United States,” the President said in mixed English and Filipino.
The President previously said he wants Western brand vaccines given to the indigent sector, after many Filipinos flocked to vaccine centers which were administering vaccines made by another US firm, Pfizer, despite lack of appointment and pre-registration.
The western vaccines are also being administered on Filipinos working overseas, who are set to leave the country, as some countries and companies abroad prefer vaccines from western firms such as Pfizer and Moderna.
The President thanked the US government not just for the donated vaccines but also for other assistance in the country’s campaign against COVID-19, including donations of other medical supplies and equipment.
“I wish to thank the United States for the generosity in sharing various COVID-19 assistance to the Philippines. I would like to extend my deepest gratitude to the COVAX Facility for the continuous donation of these vaccines. We look forward to the delivery of even more life-saving vaccines in the country very soon,” he said.
The Moderna vaccine is the second shipment of vaccines donated by the US through COVAX. The first one — the three million Johnson & Johnson vaccines — arrived last month.
Duterte on Monday night said the various forms of assistance given by the US to the Philippines contributed to his decision to retain the Visiting Forces agreement (VFA) which he ordered terminated in 2020.
He said he thanked US President Joe Biden for not forgetting the Philippines especially at this time of pandemic.
American Embassy Chargé d’Affaires John Law yesterday said the US is determined to do all it can to help end the COVID-19 pandemic globally.
Law said the US will continue to work with the Philippines to make safe, effective vaccines widely available throughout the country.
National Task Force (NTF) against COVID-19 chief implementer and vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr., on Monday night, said the country expects the delivery of 22.726 million doses of vaccines this month.
He also said the country has received 32.27 million doses of vaccines as of August 1.
He said the government hopes to get 25 million doses of vaccines monthly to meet the demands of all regions and provinces.
HESITANCY
Galvez also said vaccine hesitancy remains high among the senior citizens.
He said the number of vaccinated elders has remained almost unchanged at around two million.
He said that as of August 1, at least 2.884 million senior citizens received the first dose while 2.616 million already completed the two doses.
The Department of Health is eyeing 15 million fully vaccinated individuals by the end of the month.
“From seven million full doses, we want to double it to 15 million by the end of August,” said Health Undersecretary Myrna Cabotaje.
Included in the target, she said, is the full protection of the 1.62 million healthcare workers, currently at 1.38 million or 84 percent.
She said they also want to increase the 2.69 million (32.5 percent) fully vaccinated senior citizens by another 5 million by the end of the month.
And to be able to do so, Cabotaje said they need to sustain their average daily jabs of 600,000 to 700,000. She said the current daily jab average is at 523,018 doses.
In turn, she said they will be able to administer 3 million doses per week or 12 millions shots for the whole of August.
The moving weekly vaccination rate is 3,694,753, according to the DOH.
Cabotaje said the DOH is confident of being able to meet the goals for August considering the increasing trend since March 2021.
Data shows that from 777,000 vaccines administered in March, the numbers have consistently increased to 1.15 million in April, 3.31 in May, 5.32 million in June, and 9.9 million in July.
Add to this, she said, is that the country is expecting 22.72 million of COVID-19 vaccines to arrive this month alone.
At least 33.86 million doses have been delivered to the country since February. As of August 2, the DOH said there were 9,369,625 fully vaccinated individuals nationwide.
Cabotaje said government is looking to open the immunization program to other sectors of the population.
“Probably, by September or October, we can start with the general public, supplies permitting,” she said.
She said they estimate the general population sector to be less than half of the 111 million Filipinos.
“There will be fewer than expected because many of them are already part of the poor population or frontline workers,” said Cabotaje.
HERD IMMUNITY
Cabotaje also said that due to the threat of the Delta variant of COVID-19, the DOH is looking at increasing the herd immunity target of the country to 80 percent from the current 70 percent.
To recall, the DOH set the herd immunity target against COVID-19 at 70 percent, which is over 70 million out of the 111 million Filipinos.
Since then, the more transmissible Delta variant has emerged in the country with 216 cases already detected.
To reach the higher target, Cabotaje said, the government will likely need to expand the sectors eligible for the COVID-19 vaccines by including minors.
“Our experts are not discounting the fact that we might need to give children below 18 years old, probably 16 to 18 years old, especially those with comorbidities,” she said.
Similarly, she said this will also mean that the country will need more vaccines.
Last week, members of the Vaccine Experts Panel (VEP) said that the 70 percent herd immunity target may no longer be enough because of the Delta variant.
According to VEP head Dr. Nina Gloriani, the country may need to raise the target to 85 to 90 percent because of the Delta variant threat. ###
INCENTIVES
The Philippine Ports Authority said vaccinated passengers may get free snacks being offered at PPA port terminals nationwide, following the directive of Transportation Secretary Art Tugade to support the government’s pandemic efforts.
PPA General Manager Jay Santiago ordered all port managers to provide the free snacks until August 20. The free snacks at the PPA port terminals will cover passengers who have received the required number of COVID-19 doses or partial doses, the PPA said,
The PPA issued the order after Tugade ordered the Light Rail Transit 2 (LRT-2), Manila Metro Rail Transit 3 (MRT-3) and Philippine National Railways (PNR) to also provide free rides to vaccinated commuters and authorized persons outside the residence (APORs) starting yesterday until August 20.
Port passengers only need to present proof of their vaccination with their names and date of vaccination to avail themselves of the free snacks,
In Makati City, over 24,300 fully vaccinated senior citizens got a P1,000 gift certificate from the city government.
Makati Mayor Abby Binay said the city government started distributing the certificates on July 5, and it is part of strategic measures taken by the city to overcome vaccine hesitancy, especially among the elderly who are at high risk of suffering severe symptoms due to COVID-19.
“This past month, there has been an uptick in the number of senior citizens that registered for COVID-19 vaccination under the A2 category. As of the end of July, we have registered around 50,000 senior citizens. Of these, 44,121 got their first dose of the vaccine, while 35,813 got their second dose,” Mayor Abby said.
“Ideally, we should achieve 100 percent vaccination rate among the elderly. However, it would still depend on their willingness to get vaccinated and on the availability of vaccines,” she added.
