According to the Department of Health (DOH), the distribution of the recently-delivered COVID-19 vaccine doses will begin on Sunday. It also noted that their allocation will prioritize areas at high risk for the virus.
In a briefing on Saturday, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said the move seeks to protect vulnerable sectors in the coronavirus hotspots.
“‘Yung allocation, nagawa na po. At bukas, magu-umpisa tayong mag-distribute,” Vergeire said. “Meron tayong bias ngayon sa ating mga lugar na matataas po ang kaso.”
Despite this, the health official assured the public that other regions in the country will get their share of future vaccines.
“‘Yun nga lang po, nauuna nang konti ito pong nasa NCR Plus,” she added.
The Philippines received on Thursday an additional half a million jabs of Chinese-made Sinovac — the latest batch of COVID-19 vaccines procured by the government.
The country also expects an initial shipment of 15,000 Sputnik V vaccines to arrive on Sunday, which Vergeire said will only be distributed to select local government units due to the product’s complex storage requirements.
She noted that the Sputnik V can only be housed in a dark place, with the temperature not exceeding -18 degrees.
“Kaya pagdating po ng Sputnik V, meron lang po tayong mga assigned local governments that will receive because they have the capability to store these kinds of vaccines,” said Vergeire.
