ILOILO City – Iloilo and Bacolod City are among the “focused areas” in the distribution of the vaccine for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) once it becomes available, according to the Department of Health (DOH) Region 6.
However, according to Dr. Jane Juanico, head of DOH-6’s Infectious Disease Section, it was still unclear if the national government was referring to Iloilo province or Iloilo City.
As to the priority groups or sectors, Juanico said to be vaccinated first are frontline health workers in hospitals and temporary treatment and monitoring facilities directly interacting with COVID-19 patients.
Second in line are those in public health facilities like in rural health units and center for health development offices, barangay health workers and Barangay Health Emergency Response Teams.
Next would be the personnel from national government agencies such as the Department of Social Welfare and Development, Department of Education, Department of Interior and Local Government as well as personnel of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology and Bureau of Corrections.
“The next priority are indigent senior citizens, may mga shortlisting naman ini and projected based sa mga OSCA (Office of Senior Citizens Affairs) nga mga data. Third, ang remaining senior citizens and indigent population,” Juanico added.
The last priority are the uniformed personnel such as the Philippine National Police, Armed Forces of the Philippines, Philippine Coast Guard, Bureau of Fire Protection, and Citizen Armed Force Geographical Unit.
Juanico said these priority sectors comprise about 22 percent of the total population of the Philippines.
“The next step is to increase that to 40 to 50 percent to include other priority age groups. These are just strategies being eyed sang aton government in terms sa vaccination process,” said Juanico.
Inoculation czar secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. said last week China’s Sinovac may only arrive in the country by March 2021 – if a contract is signed within the month.
Western-made vaccines Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca might come at a later time, Galvez added, as their countries of origin will be prioritized and “more than 80 percent of vaccine manufacturing capacity has been procured” by First World countries.
However, Sen. Panfilo Lacson alleged that an apparent Pfizer negotiation – which would have seen the arrival of its vaccine in Philippine shore by January 2021 – was foiled due to Health secretary Francisco Duque III’s “indifference.”
The deal to secure about 10 million doses of Pfizer vaccine was brokered by Foreign Affairs secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. and Philippine envoy to United States Jose Manuel Romualdez as early as July.
Instead, the supplies went to Singapore, all because of Duque’s lack of urgency, they alleged.
The Food and Drug Administration earlier said it has yet to receive emergency use applications from any vaccine developers. (With ABS-CBN News/PN)
