MANILA – The rollout schedule for Sinovac BioTech’s coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) will be delayed as National Immunization Technical Advisory Group (NITAG) are still discussing the allocation of the 600,000 doses.
“As of press time, specific details as to the allocation and subsequent rollout of the 600,000 donated Sinovac doses are still being evaluated pending the official recommendation of the NITAG,” the joint statement of the Department of Health (DOH) and National Task Force Against COVID-19 said.
The Department of National Defense earlier said that out of the 600,000 doses, 100,000 will go to its employees and members of the military.
On Thursday, Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said the first batch of Sinovac’s COVID-19 vaccine will in the country on Sunday. Officials including President Rodrigo Duterte are expected to welcome the arrival of the vaccine.
“Tatlong tulog na lang po, parating na ang bakuna, inaasahang itong darating na Linggo, ang Sinovac. Kaya po excited na tayong lahat,” Roque said in a virtual press conference from Negros Oriental.
Earlier this week, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted an emergency use authorization for the China-made vaccine, the third one after Pfizer and AstraZeneca.
According to FDA, Sinovac’s efficacy ranged from 65.3 percent to 91.2 percent but only reached 50.4 percent among health workers with COVID-19 exposure. It is also not advisable to be injected to senior citizens.
Sinovac’s vaccine was supposed to be the second batch of vaccines arriving in the country if not for the delay in the arrival of 117,000 shots from Pfizer due to absence of indemnification fund.
The Philippines, which has Southeast Asia’s second highest COVID-19 cases, has lagged behind its regional neighbors in launching its vaccination drive. The government aims to vaccine up to 70 million people or two-thirds of the population this year./PN
