President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered the Department of Health (DOH) to inoculate the indigent population with the donated Pfizer-BioNTech COVID 19 vaccine, Malacanang said Thursday as it reiterated the Chief Executive's directive not to announce the vaccine brands to be administered in sites.
Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said the President gave the order after he saw how people overcrowded vaccination sites that give the US-made Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine.
“The President wants the Pfizer vaccines to be given to the poor and indigents. Under COVAX guidelines, it is A1, A2, A3 and A5," Roque said.
Pfizer will not be deployed in vaccination centers in malls. It will be deployed in barangays with low vaccine uptake, he said.
Brand to be bared just before jab
The brand of COVID-19 vaccine to be administered on recipients will still be disclosed just right before the inoculation, the Department of Health (DOH) said Thursday.
However, the DOH said those who will refuse vaccination because they prefer a different brand will have to go back to the end of the line.
The DOH made the clarification a day after it announced that vaccination sites will no longer announce what brands are available on a specific date.
“When we say we won’t announce the brand, we are not going to announce the brand as of [that] day," Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said during an interview with Unang Hirit.
Senators weigh in on agnostic policy
The Department of Health (DOH) "brand agnostic" vaccine policy or non-disclosure of vaccine to be inoculated triggered various reactions from the senators who even blamed the DOH for the communication problem over "choosy people."
Senator Nancy Binay said in general, as far as the patient's health and rights are concerned, the DOH has to put a high premium on informing those who are to be inoculated as to what type of vaccine, contraindications, side effects — and in this case — what brand of vaccine shall be administered.
She said if the DOH is concerned about “brand crowding,” then it’s clear there’s a communication issue.
“The DOH has been remiss in informing and educating the public and the people should not be blamed,” she said.
Senator Joel Villanueva said vaccine agnosticism will not work without vaccine advocacy.
Senator Francis Pangilinan said people should have a choice, saying the problem lies in the vaccine rollout, not in the choice of vaccines.
Deal on vaccine manufacturing signed
Local vaccine manufacturers now have access to the green lane, which facilitates the expedited permitting process for the establishment and operation of "bulk import, fill and finish COVID-19 vaccine manufacturing facilities" in the Philippines.
The Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA) signed Wednesday the joint memorandum circular that establishes the green lane together with the Department of Health (DOH), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Board of Investments, Department of Science and Technology (DOST) and National Task Force Against COVID-19 (NTF-COVID19).
“Bulk supplies of vaccines will be imported from abroad and the local companies will fill and package vials locally for distribution," the memo said.
More Sinovac doses arrive
Another shipment of Sinovac vaccines arrived Thursday morning in Manila, bringing to 8,279,050 the total number of doses of COVID-19 vaccines received by the Philippines.
Ninoy Aquino International Airport Customs collector Carmelita Talusan said the bureau processed the release of the latest 500,000 doses of Sinovac from Beijing.
She said the shipment consigned to the Department of Health arrived at NAIA Terminal 2 around 7:30 a.m. via Cebu Pacific Air flight No. 5J-671.
New cases top 6,000 again
The Philippines logged on Thursday 6,100 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number of infections to 1,165,155, as three laboratories failed to submit their data on time, the Department of Health (DOH) reported.
The DOH reported 135 new fatalities, bringing the death toll from COVID-19 to 19,641.
The DOH also reported 4,071 patients recovered recently, bringing the total recoveries to 1,093,602.
Active cases were logged at 51,912. Of the active cases, 93.1 percent were mild, 2.1 percent were asymptomatic, 1.5 percent were critical, 2 percent were severe, and 1.31 percent were moderate.
Nationwide, 59 percent of the ICU beds, 45 percent of the isolation beds, 47 percent of the ward beds, and 40 percent of the ventilators, were in use.
In Metro Manila, 59 percent of the ICU beds, 40 percent of the isolation beds, 43 percent of the ward beds, and 41 percent of the ventilators, were in use.
