DOH Says Sinovac Vaccine Rollout In PH To Finish In 2-3 Weeks
SINOVAC VACCINE ROLLOUT IN PH – According to the Department of Health, the rollout of 600,000 doses of China’s COVID-19 vaccine will take two to three weeks.
Last Sunday, the Philippines had received its first doses of coronavirus vaccines. As such, the Health Department and concerned agencies rush to begin its vaccination programs.
During an interview with ABS-CBN, Health Undersecretary and DOH Spokesperson Maria Rosario Vergeire said:
We are looking at two weeks for us to be able to roll it out properly and then we will have the next two weeks to monitor if there would still be a quick substitution list that will be used. So basically in two to three weeks we will be able to utilize these because we already have a plan of rolling it out
A substitution list is a list of individuals who are willing and ready to get vaccinated in the event that the original beneficiary backs out. Furthermore, Vergeire said that they already prepped hospitals and emphasized that they are ready to rollout vaccines today.
Currently, doses of the vaccine had already been transported to the following hospitals on early Monday morning:
- Philippine General Hospital
- Lung Center of the Philippines
- Dr. Jose N. Rodriguez Memorial Medical Center and Sanitarium (Tala)
- Veterans Memorial Medical Center
- Philippine National Police General Hospital in Camp Crame
- Victoriano Luna Medical Center
Along with this, a simultaneous vaccination in the six hospitals are scheduled this Monday. However, some are weary due to previous reports of Sinovac merely having 50% efficacy against the virus.
But, the National Immunization Technical Advisory Group (Nitag), recently recommended the use of CoronaVac even for health workers despite the low efficacy rate.
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