A total of 8,559 individuals have been inoculated with the first dose of CoronaVac within the first three days of the COVID-19 vaccine rollout in the Philippines, Malacañang reported Thursday.
Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said among the main agenda of the fifty-third cabinet meeting held on Wednesday is the vaccination program which commenced earlier this week following the arrival of donated doses from China.
“Of the 600,000 doses of the vaccine that arrived on Sunday, 189,600 have already been delivered. Bukod po sa na-deliver na sa mga sites dito sa Metro Manila, may 12,000 doses na rin po na napadala sa Davao City at 7,200 doses naman sa Cebu City (Aside from those delivered in Metro Manila sites, 12,000 were transported to Davao City and 7,200 to Cebu City),” he added.
“As of yesterday, the master listed population stands at 222,783, and the vaccines shall be administered to them in 243 vaccination sites in all 17 regions of the country,” Nograles detailed.
The initial doses will still be allocated to health workers and essential personnel in 94 sites in Luzon, 18 in Visayas, and 131 in Mindanao.
President Rodrigo Duterte wants to strengthen the vaccine rollout to include the rest of the country which Nograles affirmed is possible, considering the arrival of the first batch of vaccines developed by AstraZeneca from the COVAX Facility.
The National Immunization Technical Advisory Group (NITAG) is finalizing the list of beneficiaries of the new supply and the initial recipients to boost vaccine confidence.
“Ang proseso kasi natin, dinadaan muna natin sa NITAG ang lahat ng pagpa-prioritize (The process starts with the NITAG for prioritization). But to the President’s mind and concern, I think he considers us in the Cabinet as also frontliners, very much exposed,” Nograles concluded. – Report from Mela Lesmoras
