A former Health secretary and a member of the minority bloc in the House of Representatives on Wednesday slammed what she described as the “unsystematic distribution” of vaccines against COVID-19 across the country.
Iloilo Rep. Janette Garin said many areas in the country, particularly those that have not been visited by government officials—including vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. and deputy chief implementer Vince Dizon— do not have enough vaccines.
Garin said now was not the time to allocate vaccines based on request.
“If your place wasn’t visited, you won’t receive vaccines. If you fail to call them, you will not be provided with vaccines. We are wasting time. This is not systematic,” Garin said.
Instead, she said, vaccines should be distributed based on the population of an area.
“Why don’t we do it scientifically and come up with a formula?” Garin said.
Galvez had earlier apologized for the delays in the delivery of vaccines to some local governments.
At the onset of 2020, the Philippine population stood at 109.48 million, and is projected to hit 110.88 million by the end of 2021, based on government data.
Government officials said that transportation and temperature concerns are among factors contributing to the delayed delivery of vaccines in some provinces.
The Palace, meanwhile, said the government relies on health experts’ findings to determine priority areas for the distribution of vaccines.
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said there is no preferential treatment in the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines to the “National Capital Region (NCR) Plus 8 or Plus 10.”
The NCR Plus 8, the initial areas prioritized for COVID-19 vaccination, consists of Metro Manila, Cavite, Laguna, Pampanga, Batangas, Rizal, Bulacan, Metro Davao, and Metro Cebu.
Roque later announced that 10 more cities would be prioritized for vaccine distribution – Bacolod, Iloilo, Cagayan de Oro, Baguio, Zamboanga, Dumaguete, Tuguegarao, General Santos, Naga, and Legazpi.
“There is science behind this. It’s not favoritism for favoritism’s sake. It’s not favoritism because of economic activity alone,” he said in a press conference in Sta. Rosa, Laguna.
Quoting health experts, Roque said creating an “artificial boundary” or wall around Metro Manila and these priority areas would ensure the safety of those not vaccinated.
“If you solve the problem here, you will solve the problem of the entire country because the cases in Metro Manila are the ones spreading across the country,” he said.
Roque said the “NCR Plus 8, Plus 10” needed to be prioritized considering that they are highly urbanized and contribute much to the economy.
On Monday, the Philippines marked more than 10 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines administered since the country kicked off its inoculation program in March.
Official government data showed that 10,065,414 doses were given as of June 27. Of this number, 2,527,286 Filipinos have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19, while 7,538,128 have received their first shot.
The Philippines aims to achieve “population protection” by yearend by vaccinating 40 percent to 50 percent of its people, especially in priority areas.
Shifting to “population protection” is an effective way to maximize the limited supply of vaccines even as herd immunity or vaccinating 70 percent to 80 percent of the population remains the ideal target, a health expert said.
Infectious disease expert Dr. Rontgene Solante said the Philippines’ temporary shift to population protection instead of herd immunity against COVID-19 was prompted by the lack of vaccines.
Solante, a member of the country’s vaccine experts panel, said population protection is an effective way to maximize the available doses.
“If we vaccinate 70 percent to 80 percent of our population, we will achieve herd immunity. But due to our limited COVID-19 vaccine supply, we shifted to population protection, which is prioritizing vaccination of those at high risk for hospitalization [and] high risk for death.),” Solante said during a briefing.
This is the reason health workers, senior citizens and persons with comorbidities are being prioritized in the vaccination program, Solante said.
“If these sectors are vaccinated, we are confident that our hospitals will not be overwhelmed,” Solante also said.
Solante, however, assured the public that the government target remains achieving herd immunity.
She called on the public to get their jabs as soon as they are available.
“If we don’t get vaccinated, cases of new coronavirus variants will increase and transmission will be more frequent,” Solante said.
Also on Wednesday, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) chief Eric Domingo said about 60 people have fallen ill with COVID-1 even after getting their second dose of the Sinovac vaccine, but all these were mild cases and there were no deaths.
Of the 60, 27 got COVID-19 less than 14 days after they got their second Sinovac dose, while 33 fell ill two weeks after.
“These are all mild cases and the infection was drastically reduced [compared with those who got COVID-19 after getting the first dose],” Domingo said.
Five people who completed their two doses of AstraZeneca got infected less than two weeks after completing their vaccination.
Only one person got sick with COVID-19 after 14 days from the second AstraZeneca dose.
One person also got infected less than two weeks after getting the second Sputnik V dose, while one also fell ill two weeks after getting the second Pfizer shot against COVID-19.
Earlier, the Health department said that an individual is considered fully vaccinated two weeks after getting the second dose of the vaccine against coronavirus.
Fully vaccinated people, however, are still required to wear face masks, face shields, and observe social distancing pending herd immunity.