The Philippines on Saturday (Sept. 18) received another 961,000 doses of Moderna COVID-19 vaccine.
Of which, about 712,800 were government-procured, while the remaining 248,200 were bought by the private sector.
According to the National Task Force (NTF) Against COVID-19 Adviser Dr. Teddy Herbosa, a big chunk of the vaccine will be allocated to Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Cebu, other parts of Visayas, and Mindanao.
The NTF said that vaccination of individuals below 18 years old are not yet approved by the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) Against COVID-19, however, early vaccine registration for the young population can be of advantage to the local government units (LGUs).
“So that they will know how many vaccines they need, how many vaccines will they allocate for [individuals aged] 12 to 17. This is just a preparation. It is not a sure ball na i-va-vaccinate na because the government has not yet approved the vaccination for 12 to 17 years of age,” NTF Consultant Dr. Maria Paz Corrales said on Saturday.
Herbosa also reported during the arrival of the latest vaccine delivery that the country has already received over 56 million vaccine doses.
He added that 17 million individuals are already fully vaccinated as of mid-September, which is equivalent to 22% of the target 77 million individuals to be vaccinated in the country.
About 190,000 doses of Sputnik V (Component 2) vaccine from Russia are also expected to arrive tonight (Sept. 18) at 10:00 PM. – Report from Rod Lagusad / CF – rir
