CV gets 161T more doses
A new batch of COVID-19 vaccines arrived in Central Visayas Tuesday, bringing to 395,960 the number of doses the region has received from the national government since March this year.
Of this batch, 132,000 doses are AstraZeneca and 29,000 doses are Pfizer vaccines, said Department of Health (DOH)7 spokesperson and chief pathologist, Dr. Mary Jean Loreche.
At least 193,050 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines arrived in the Philippines Monday night from the COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access (COVAX) Facility.
COVAX is a worldwide initiative that aims to give lowincome and developing countries across the globe equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines.
Loreche said the vaccines that arrived in Region 7 will be administered to those in priority groups AI (healthcare workers), A2 (senior citizens), and A3 (persons with comorbidities).
Pfizer vaccines can be administered to those 16 years old above, including senior citizens.
Loreche said the AstraZeneca vaccines will go to Metro Cebu because of the logistical and cold chain requirements.
“Naa tay ultralow freezer nga naa sa sulod sa DOH regional office,” Loreche said.
FOCUS AND EXPAND
The new batch of vaccines arrived the day after the national InterAgency Task Force (IATF) assured a steady supply of vaccines for Metro Cebu being a “center of gravity” in the government’s National Vaccination Program against
COVID-19 along with other metropolitan areas in the country like the National Capital Region, Bulacan, Cavite, Pampanga, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Metro Davao.
The national government is adopting a socalled “focus and expand” strategy in its vaccination program.
“Iyong center of gravity po ito, ito po ‘yong tinatawag natin na economic centers, at the same time, ito po ‘yong mga vulnerable areas,” Sec. Carlito G. Galvez Jr. told President Rodrigo Duterte evening on May 10.
“So pagka na-address po natin, na-strengthen natin ang ating vulnerabilities at the same time, we strengthen our economic strength, iyon po ang center of gravity po natin,” Galvez said.
To make this happen, these “centers” are promised a steady supply of vaccines each month to avoid shortage and delay in the rollout.
For May alone, the national government is expecting a total of 11,364,00 doses of vaccines from Sinovac, Sputnik, and Pfizer. Another 20,514,000 doses from the same vaccine brands, as well as from Moderna and AstraZenica, are expected in June.
Galvez said that with herd containment and herd immunity, Filipinos will have a better Christmas.
For herd containment, Galvez said the government has to inoculate at least 25 to 50 million Filipinos by September 2021 to reduce hospitalization and deaths by covering the A1, A2, and A3 priority sectors.
CV VACCINATION
In Central Visayas, as of May 10, 2021, a total of 87,215 of 135,421 healthcare workers have received the first dose of the vaccine while 38,836 others have received the second dose, Loreche said.
Among senior citizens, 20,941 have been vaccinated out of the 586,231 eligible population for this priority group. Of this number, 10,409 are in Cebu City; 4,416 are in Cebu Province; 1,912 are in Lapu-lapu City; 3,166 are in Mandaue City; 73 are in Negros Oriental; and 974 are in Siquijor.
Meanwhile, local government units in Eastern Visayas are ready to implement community vaccination following the rollout of the Visayas COVID-19 Vaccination Operations Center (VVOC) Manual in the region.
The manual aims to provide guidance on how to set up vaccination centers and put in place a system to ensure smooth and more efficient vaccination plan in the Visayas.
The VVOC manual is prepared by InterAgency Task Force Visayas implementor, retired Gen. Melquiades Feliciano, in coordination with the Office of the Presidential Assistant for the Visayas and DOH-7.
Feliciano said the manual shares the “best practices” that LGUs can adopt in their vaccination implementation, in accordance with the national government’s policies.
He said the LGUs’ readiness is vital in ensuring that once vaccines arrive, they can be distributed immediately to the public.
“The fast distribution of our vaccines relies on how ready our LGUs. That’s our aim now as we share this manual to the local governments,” Feliciano said in a statement released by OPAV.
LGUs must be ready in terms of logistical, manpower, physical, and technical requirements.
Building the country’s herd immunity will entail the vaccination of as low as 58 million and as high as 70 million individuals by November of 2021. — /JMO