Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said on Friday said the second batch of vaccines donated by Chinese firm Sinovac would be exclusively given to health workers.
“Nagkaroon na po ng decision ang NITAG na ‘yung kakarating lang po na pinakahuling donasyon ng China na 400,000 [doses] Sinovac ay ibibigay ang karamihan nito doon sa pinakaapektado ng new variants, kasama na po ang NCR Plus, at ang Cebu, at Davao,” Roque said.
(NITAG (National Immunization Technical Advisory Group) decided that the 400,000 doses that recently arrived will be given in areas dealing with new variants of coronavirus, including NCR Plus as well as Cebu and Davao.)
The additional 400,000 doses of Sinovac vaccines against COVID-19 donated by China to the Philippines arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) on Wednesday morning.
A Philippine Airlines flight containing the vaccines arrived at 7:21 am.
The first batch of Sinovac vaccines, 600,000 doses, was delivered on February 28 and was the first official vaccine administered to health workers nationwide.
NCR Plus includes Metro Manila and the nearby provinces of Bulacan, Rizal, Cavite, and Laguna.
2nd batch of donated Sinovac vaccines exclusive for health workers: Palace
“That is the information I got from vaccine czar Carlito Galvez. Sa ngayon po, talagang health workers pa rin po [muna ang makakakuha ng bakuna] nang sa gayon ay magkaroon [sila] ng option na magkaroon na ng bakuna na Sinovac,” Roque said.
(Health workers remain a priority in the vaccination program.)
Roque said Thursday that the Philippines could lose 44 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine from the COVAX facility if the vaccination priority list would not be followed.
“Jumping the line is wrong. Tama na po iyan. Iyong 44 million doses po natin na libre sa COVAX, mawawala kung hindi masusunod iyong priority,” presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said in a Palace briefing.
(Please stop it. We will lose 44 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines from COVAX if the priority list will not be followed.)
On Wednesday night, President Duterte ordered an investigation into the vaccination incident on a person he called “a celebrity’s son.”
According to Duterte, the conditions set by the World Health Organization in relation to the list of those to be vaccinated must be followed.