PH scrambling for vaccine ‘leftover’
Duterte unsure when we can get sufficient supply
The Philippines is facing uncertainty on how soon it could get sufficient vaccines to protect Filipinos and is now desperately scrambling to procure even the coronavirus vaccine leftovers, particularly from Western countries that suspended the use of AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson brands due to reported cases of side effects.
In a tweet on Thursday night, Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. directed his department to look into reports that Denmark is willing to share the more than 200,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines it had earlier procured following reports of “rare blood clots combined with low platelet counts that have occurred in Europe and Britain.”
“There you go. DFAPHL contact me about this tomorrow morning (Friday),” the foreign secretary said.
President Duterte admitted that he has no idea yet when the country can get more vaccines given the world's scarce supply of the preventive drug.
Even Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose Manuel Romualdez admitted in a webinar on Wednesday that there has been a “setback” in the country’s procurement of US-made jabs after Washington recommended a pause on the use of Johnson & Johnson vaccine after six recipients reportedly experienced “rare and severe” type of blood clot.
The President said the country has so far secured vaccine supplies from China but unfortunately, the arriving stocks are “barely enough” to inoculate the country's health workers.
“Wala pa tayong nakuha, except for noong nakuha natin sa China. Now you know exactly what I mean kung sabihin ko noong binigay sa atin ng China. Kindly read my lips. So mayroong tayong nakuha at may dadating pakaunti-kaunti (we have secured some supplies and will arrive in small batches),” Duterte said in a televised address Thursday, April 16, his second within the week.
“Now, when will we have those stocks sufficient to vaccinate the people? I really do not know. Nobody knows,” he said.
The President maintained that the country's situation was not unique, saying other nations were also having difficulty securing vaccine supplies. Duterte previously claimed that rich countries have managed to secure most of the world's supply of vaccines, leaving poor nations like the Philippines further behind.
“It’s really that the Philippines is not an exception. We are not the favored few under this planet Earth,” Duterte said.
Fil-Ams seek Biden’s help
With the difficulty in securing vaccine supply, a group of FilipinoAmerican lobbyists and US-based organizations sent US President Joe Biden this week a letter requesting for the “immediate release” of five million doses of Moderna vaccines by May instead of the original target delivery of June, citing the “dire” situation of COVID-19 infections in the Philippines.
The Philippines has ordered a total of 25 million doses of Moderna vaccines from the United States, according to National Task ForceCOVID-19 chief Carlito Galvez Jr.
World Bank President David Malpass had earlier called on countries to contribute their “excess” doses of COVID-19 vaccines to low-income countries, noting that affluent nations are hoarding doses to cover double or triple their populations.
Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez echoed the call made by Malpass, saying that the Philippines “fully rolling out” its nationwide vaccination program aimed at inoculating at least 60 percent of the adult population by end of 2021.
A total of $1.7 billion in funds has been set aside by the Philippines for procurement, logistics, and rollout of vaccines. The bulk of which, or $1.2 billion, came from loans extended by the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank (ADB), and the China-backed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).