VICE President Leni Robredo yesterday said the Office of the Vice President is “very much willing” to bring its vaccine express hubs project to the Visayas and Mindanao.
The OVP rolled out its first drive-through vaccination site at the Cultural Center of the Philippines in Malate, Manila last Tuesday in partnership with the city government.
During the rollout, Robredo said no politics was involved in the team-up. She and Moreno are among possible presidential or vice presidential candidates of the opposition 1Sambayan coalition.
She also said the OVP is willing to partner with any local government unit.
The “Vaccine Express” project aims to make vaccination accessible to economic frontliners, like tricycle, pedicab, and delivery riders.
The OVP has been providing various forms of assistance to healthcare workers, non-medical frontliners, and communities affected by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, including the “Swab Cab” or free testing.
Robredo’s latest statement was in response to the call of deputy speaker Rufus Rodriguez (Cagayan de Oro City) for the national government to step up its COVID-19 response in the Visayas and Mindanao, following infection surges.
“Will ask our team to coordinate with yours,” Robredo said on Twitter.
Rodriguez said the vice president “should include cities in Mindanao and Visayas such as Cagayan de Oro and Iloilo where Covid-19 cases are increasing, instead of Manila, which has already given so much vaccines to its residents.”
Meanwhile, National Task Force against COVID-19 chief implementer and vaccine Czar Carlito Galvez said the delivery of 50,000 doses of Sputnik V vaccine from Russia’s Gamaleya Institute will be delayed “due to ongoing upgrades and latest developments on the vaccine.”
Galvez said the NTF vaccine cluster received a formal communication last June 20 from the representative of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) that the arrival of Sputnik V’s component II vaccines will be deferred to a later date.
He said the RDIF has committed to update the Philippine government on the definite date of delivery of the vaccines, which are intended to be the second dose for those who have been vaccinated early this month with the brand’s component I vaccines.
“We have already informed all local government units who have administered the first dose of Sputnik V to their constituents that the schedule for the second shot will likewise be pushed back and will be rescheduled,” Galvez said in a statement.
Galvez also said the Gamaleya Institute through the RDIF has formally expressed to the Philippine Food and Drug Administration (FDA) its intention to amend the interval period between the two doses of Sputnik V from the minimum 21 days to 90 days.
The FDA is now studying the request, together with the supporting report submitted by the Gamaleya Institute so that it can determine and recommend the appropriate interval period, he added.
The Health Technology Assessment Council recommends that “persons aged 18 years and older may receive two vaccine doses at least 21 days apart.”
