Due to a shortage in ancillary supplies, particularly syringes for Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines, the government adjusted its target of 15million jabs to only 9 million for the three-day National Vaccination Days from Nov. 29 to Dec. 1, the National Task Force (NTF) Against COVID-19 said.
To achieve the goal of completely inoculating 54 million Filipinos by yearend, the NTF and National Vaccination Operations Center set another three-day inoculation drive on Dec. 15 to 17.
In a statement, the NTF and the NVOC said they adjusted the target after consulting local chief executives of provinces, cities, and municipalities, as well as their resource management and logistics team.
lack… The Department of Health said the scheduled shipment of procured supplies made through the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has been delayed due to the current global shortage of syringes for the Pfizer jab.
“As we know, sufficient ancillary supply for each of the vaccine brands is essential in the conduct of the National Vaccination Days as a significant number of those who will be vaccinated will include the younger population or those aged 12 to 17 years old,” the NTF and NVOC said.
The Food and Drug Administration has only approved COVID-19 vaccine brands Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna for minors. The same vaccine brands are also used for booster shots and third doses for healthcare workers, senior citizens, and persons with comorbidities.
Meanwhile, the British government has promised to supply the Philippines with 100 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines in 2022.
UK Ambassador to the Philippines Laure Beaufils announced the commitment following the arrival of 288,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport on Friday donated by Britain through the COVAX Facility.
“The UK is absolutely delighted that we were able to provide 5.2 million doses of Astrazeneca this week through COVAX,” said Beaufils, adding that her government is committed to supplying the Philippines with up to 100 million doses by 2022.
As of Friday, a total of 139,860,080 COVID-19 vaccine doses have arrived in the Philippines.
Vaccine czar Sec. Carlito Galvez said out of 81 provinces, at least 10 have already inoculated 70 percent of their target population, nine cities have administered the jab to 100 percent of their target population, while 42 cities have vaccinated more than 70 percent of their target population.
Galvez expressed confidence the Philippines will reach another milestone in its vaccination program by fully inoculating 54 million Filipinos by the end of the year.