Why Bicol Region has 100.2% COVID-19 vaccines utilization rate
Health units in Bicol Region have utilized a total of 21,142 doses (100.2 percent) of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccines even if they were only given 21,100 doses for the first dose vaccination of their priority sectors, the National Task Force (NTF) Against COVID-19 revealed Wednesday, April 7.
How did it happen?
The NTF media affairs explained that there were 42 excess doses from the vials of AstraZeneca vaccines that were distributed in the Bicol Region, or Region 5.
According to the Department of Health (DOH), one vial of AstraZeneca vaccine contains a standard of 10 doses.
The NTF media affairs said that AstraZeneca has already submitted a revised product label allowing the use of excess doses from each of the affected vials.
In a statement, the NTF said: "Implementing units in Region 5 were able to maximize the doses obtained from the Astrazeneca vials, hence, the utilization rate."
However, the NTF media affairs noted that an official guidance from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is needed. The FDA has yet to issue one.
According to the NTF, the government has already distributed 1,936,600 (77 percent) doses out of the total supply of 2,525,600 doses of COVID-19 vaccines.
The National Capital Region (NCR), regarded as the epicenter of the pandemic in the country, received the highest allocation as it received a total of 735,970 doses.
The allocation for other regions is as follows:
Cordillera Administrative Region - 47, 200
Region 1 - 76,000
Region 2 - 40,380
Region 3 - 131,940
Region 4A - 159,360
Region 4B - 39,400
Region 5 - 26,500
Region 6 - 68,760
Region 7 - 132,360
Region 8 - 42,050
Region 9 - 44,400
Region 10 - 63,400
Region 11 - 75,200
Region 12 - 76,940
Caraga - 59,740 Bangsamoro Autonomous Regin in Muslim Mindanao - 29,200
The government has authorized the simultaneous vaccination of frontline healthcare workers (A1 priority), senior citizens (A2), and persons with co-morbidities (A3) to speed up the vaccination efforts in the country.
Around 70 million individuals are targeted to be inoculated against COVID-19 so the country can achieve the so-called herd immunity by the end of 2021.