A GOVERNMENT official has urged Cebuanos to throw away their worries about the supplies of Covid-19 vaccines, saying there will be enough vaccines for individuals who want to be inoculated.
This was the assurance made by Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles, co-chairman of the national Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases who visited Cebu on Monday, May 31, 2021, for the council meeting of Partido Demokratiko Pilipino–Lakas ng Bayan (PDP–Laban), the party of President Rodrigo Duterte.
The supply of AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine in Cebu City is set to run out this week, depending on the turnout of the city residents who would avail themselves of the vaccination.
Nograles said millions of doses of Covid-19 vaccine purchased by the national government will gradually arrive in the country from June to December 2021.
In a separate interview, National Task Force (NTF) Against Covid-19 chief implementer Carlito Galvez Jr. said one million doses of the Sinovac vaccine and 2.2 million doses of Pfizer are expected to arrive in the month of June.
Galvez said 5,120,023 doses have been administered.
He said they are hoping to inoculate around 10 million individuals in June. The target is to fully vaccinate 50 to 70 million people before the year ends in order to achieve herd immunity against Covid-19.
Target
According to Nograles, the national government targets to vaccinate 70 million Filipinos against Covid-19 before the end of 2021 so the majority could celebrate Christmas.
He said 140 million doses are enough for 70 million people who are 18 years old and above.
Nograles urged Filipinos who are 18 years old and above not to hesitate to avail themselves of the vaccine, saying this can protect them from contracting the novel coronavirus that causes Covid-19.
Nograles said the local government units are doing well in their vaccine rollout.
The vaccines that will be administered are Sinovac, Sputnik V, AstraZeneca, Moderna and Pfizer.
Sputnik V arrival
On Sunday evening, May 30, 2021, an additional 50,000 doses of Sputnik V, Russia’s vaccine against Covid-19, arrived in the Philippines.
These brought to 80,000 the total doses of Sputnik V that have been delivered to the country. Including the other vaccine brands, the Philippines has received a total of 8,329,050 doses.
The Sputnik V shipment was on board Qatar Airways Flight QR928, which arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 before midnight Sunday.
The NTF Against Covid-19 said the vaccines were brought to the PharmaServ warehouse in Marikina City prior to deployment nationwide.
The first two Sputnik V shipments arrived on May 1 and 12.
Activation
In its continuing efforts to save lives and restore livelihoods, Project Balik Buhay (PBB) has activated the IEC Convention Center in Cebu City as the PBB-IEC Vaccination MegaCenter, with the support of the Archdiocese of Cebu, and in partnership with the University of the Philippines Medical Alumni Society Cebu Chapter and LH Foundation Inc.
The PBB-IEC Vaccination MegaCenter can serve 2,000 individuals daily who want to be inoculated. And it aims to address the increasing number of individuals in the PBB company masterlists submitted to and duly approved by the Department of Health (DOH) 7 and local government units, according to PBB in a press statement.
Project Balik Buhay is also set to open four more vaccination centers in June. These are Sacred Heart School–Ateneo de Cebu Canduman campus, University of San Carlos–Talamban campus, Toyota Talisay City and Toyota Lapu-Lapu City. These openings increase the vaccination sites to 12.
The other activated PBB Vaccination Centers are Cebu Doctors’ University Hospital and Visayas Community Medical Center in Cebu City; Chong Hua Hospital and University of Cebu Medical Center in Mandaue City; Mactan Doctors’ Hospital and ARC Hospitals in Lapu-Lapu City; and Mendero Medical Center in Consolacion.
Registration to the Project Balik Buhay Vaccination Initiative has reopened upon the request of the Visayas Covid-19 Vaccination Operations Center and the DOH 7 to accommodate applications from people’s organizations, micro and small establishments, sari-sari store vendors, tricycle drivers and other community groups. (PAC, TPM / SunStar Philippines)