National Task Force against COVID-19
Sec. Carlito Galvez Jr.
The National Task Force Against COVID-19 welcomes the latest survey results of the Social Weather Stations (SWS) on the accessibility and pace of the nation’s vaccine rollout. They are both a confirmation and a testament that we have made major strides in the implementation of our vaccination program.
The results of the SWS survey also serve as an inspiration to the national government, local government units and the private sector to further improve their service delivery, and make sure that Filipinos have access to these life-saving vaccines through the thousands of vaccination sites across the country.
That 68% of our countrymen, with a majority of them coming from Metro Manila, feel that they have sufficient access to vaccination sites shows that we have been successful in reaching out to residents particularly in high-risk and vulnerable areas and convincing them to get the COVID-19 jab.
This figure is a reflection of the hard work, determination and commitment of all sectors of society to ensure that the vaccines get into the arms of as many people as possible. However, much work also needs to be done so that the 29% who said they have no access to vaccination sites can be served.
While major milestones have been accomplished since the conduct of the June 23 to 26 SWS survey, there is still a lot of room for improvement and expansion in our vaccine rollout, particularly in our deployment and administration strategy. These measures include, among others, the activation of more vaccine sites and the hiring of additional vaccinators.
During the second quarter, our vaccine program was still gaining momentum because of the limited vaccine deliveries during that time. This is why we made sure that the deployment of the limited vaccine doses will be directed to those areas with the highest economic and social risks, as well as groups with the highest burden of disease, hospitalization, and death.
Our cumulative vaccine inventory in June only stood at 17,457,810 when the survey was conducted. This figure is significantly lower than the volumes that we received in two months for July and August, which now stands at 25,482,580 doses. By the end of this month, we expect to increase our cumulative vaccine inventory to more than 50 million doses as we expect to receive at least 20 million in the month of August alone.
Moreover, due to the limited supply in the second quarter, the average daily jab rate in June was only at 179,605 as compared to the 315,366 in July and 488,455 in August.
It was in July when we started to receive a steady supply of larger vaccine shipments. As a result, LGUs were able to increase their capacities to inoculate beyond their initial daily targets. And as LGU and private sector-procured vaccines arrived, many business establishments opened vaccination sites to cater to their employees as well as local residents.
Hence, the SWS’s survey results on the “slow pace of vaccination” may not reflect the current situation in the country. In Metro Manila alone, where most of the survey respondents said that the country’s vaccination pace is slow, over 230,000 jabs were administered in a day and this was achieved several times in August. And just this month, the country was able to administer around 700,000 jabs in a day twice.
Moreover, the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccines were specifically allocated for senior citizens and persons with comorbidities across the country. To ensure the biggest impact, we gave the highest priority to those residing in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas nationwide.
Yet, we believe that all of these efforts are still not enough. Based on our monitoring and evaluation, we have identified the areas in our vaccine program that need to be improved on, as we move closer to our goal of achieving herd immunity and soon expanding our inoculation program to the younger population.
The NTF will make sure that equal attention will be given to all regions and provinces in our vaccine rollout, as we ask each and every Filipino to diligently comply with minimum public health standards. Through our concerted efforts, we hope to see a continuous upward trend in our vaccine rollout as we BEAT COVID 19 – Bayan Everyone Acting Together. (NTF) – bny
