Boosting vaccine confidence

Last week’s validation by the World Health Organization (WHO) of the Sinovac vaccine and its inclusion in the WHO emergency use listing of Covid-19 vaccines is a big boost to our national vaccination program.

As Sinovac is the first Covid vaccine that came to the country and is widely used in our vaccination program, this development is a testament to the safety and efficacy of Sinovac and will hopefully give more Filipinos the confidence to be vaccinated against Covid-19.

“Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin has committed to increasing the volume of Sputnik V vaccine deliveries to the Philippines.

According to the WHO, in a statement released on 1 June, the vaccine efficacy results for Sinovac showed that it prevented symptomatic disease in 51 percent of those vaccinated, and prevented severe Covid-19 and hospitalization in 100 percent of the studied population.

To prevent severe Covid-19 and death are the primary goals of our vaccination program and the fact that all vaccines that are available in the country can do that by as much as 100 percent, hopefully, that will give more people the confidence to get inoculated and have themselves protected.

Remember, all vaccines are free, and that the best vaccine is the one that is available now.

Meanwhile, as another boost to our vaccination program, Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin, in his conversation with President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, committed to increasing the volume of Sputnik V vaccine deliveries to the Philippines.

I consider this great news given that Sputnik V was widely accepted when it was first introduced in our vaccination program as evidenced by the long queues for the said vaccine during its rollout in some cities in Metro Manila.

In my press briefing last week, I reported data from the National Covid-19 Vaccination Operations Center that as of 2 June 2021, a total of 8,279,050 doses of vaccine have arrived in the country. Of this number, a total of 5,383,172 doses had been administered as of 1 June 2021.

From the same data, there are now 4,088,422 individuals who have received their first dose, while 1,293,750 have already completed their second dose.

With more vaccine deliveries this June, we expect an uptick in the number of vaccinees, as we start to vaccinate the A4 Priority Group this June.

As our national vaccination program continues to roll, I encourage everyone to be part of the solution and get jabbed as soon as possible so that we can achieve population protection.

Getting vaccinated is the solution to end our fight against Covid-19. But while not everyone has been vaccinated yet, continue to Mask, Let’s all

practice

“As Sinovac is the first Covid vaccine that came to the country and is widely used in our vaccination program, this development is a testament to its safety and efficacy.