THE National Task Force Against COVID-19 (NTF) said it remains focused on ensuring the equitable and timely distribution of vaccines among local government units (LGUs) throughout the country, especially those outside the National Capital Region (NCR).
This was the assurance given by NTF chief implementer and vaccine czar Secretary Carlito Galvez, Jr. to LGUs with the arrival of bigger vaccine deliveries in the country.
“In line with our recalibrated vaccinated deployment strategy, we are now sending the bulk of the latest vaccine arrivals to regions and provinces beyond the NCR. As of October 13, a total of 87,690,960 vaccine doses have arrived in the Philippines, including the 16,366,370 doses that have been delivered this month alone,” Galvez said in the statement.
He also provided clarity to concerns raised by Albay Representative Joey Salceda, citing data from the National Vaccination Operation Center (NVOC) that the province of Albay, excluding its cities, still has 19,261 Sinovac doses and 24,089 Pfizer doses in its supply inventory which remain unutilized as of October 10.
“Deliveries are now ongoing for 26,920 Sinovac doses and 16,380 Pfizer doses since October 11. These vaccines are for first and second doses. The province also stands to receive 28,000 Moderna vaccines, which consist of first and second doses,” Galvez explained.
Based on NVOC data, Albay’s average daily vaccination rate from October 3 to 9 only reached 3,527 jabs per day, below its daily vaccination target of 9,580 jabs.
“Supply is no longer an issue for our country as of this time, as we now have adequate vaccines in our national inventory. We thus enjoin all LGUs to further scale up their vaccination throughput and encourage more of their constituents to get the jab, especially now that the vaccine rollout is now open to the general adult population,” Galvez pointed out.
Galvez likewise commended and thanked LGUs for their aggressive efforts to inoculate as many of their people as possible despite the many challenges the LGUs continue to confront. “We believe that it is only by vaccinating more of our countrymen that we would be able to recover faster from this pandemic and revive our economy,” he said.