President Rodrigo Duterte ordered to vaccinate the indigent population using Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said Thursday.
Roque said the President’s order is compliant with the conditions set by the COVAX facility, which donated the 193,050 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines.
“Ipinag-utos ni Presidente na ibigay ang Pfizer sa mahihirap at indigent population (The President wants the Pfizer vaccines be given to the poor and indigents). Under COVAX guidelines, it is A1, A2, A3, and A5,” Roque said.
According to the government’s vaccination priority lists, A1 are health workers, A2 are senior citizens, A3 are people with comorbidities, while A5 are the poor and the indigents.
A4 are essential workers or those required to report to work despite the prevailing quarantine restrictions physically.
“Iyong Pfizer, hindi po ‘yan ilalagay sa mall. Ilalagay ‘yan sa barangays na mababa ang uptake ng vaccine,” Roque pointed out.
(Pfizer will not be deployed in vaccination centers in malls. It will be deployed in barangays with low vaccine uptake.)
“On A4, we will use the ones (vaccines) paid for by the government,” Roque added.
Duterte orders to give Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine to indigents
Another batch of Sinovac, the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine from China, has arrived in the Philippines.
500,000 doses of CoronaVac, manufactured by Chinese company Sinovac, arrived this Thursday, 7:37 a.m. at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).
Health Secretary Francisco Duque III was one of those who welcomed the Sinovac vaccines.
As a result, 5.5 million doses of COVID-19 have arrived in Manila from China. About 7.7 million vaccines have been delivered to the Philippines.
Meanwhile, the OCTA Research Group proposes to pour 90 percent of the supply of COVID-19 vaccines into the National Capital Region (NCR), which remains the epicenter of the pandemic in the country.
According to professor Guido David of OCTA, although there is an increase in the number of new cases in some provinces, the focus on the NCR should still be a priority.
As a result, the NCR should be provided 90 percent of the vaccine supply and allocate the remaining 10 percent to health workers and senior citizens elsewhere.
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