The Muntinlupa City government has stopped announcing in advance the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine brand to be used for residents to comply with the new instruction from the Department of Health (DOH).
DOH Usec. Myrna Cabotaje said Wednesday the vaccine brand will no longer be announced and people will only know it once they are at the vaccination site.
"What we are going to enforce now is brand agnostic. Dapat sasabihan lang you go and whatever the vaccine that will be available, you get it. So hindi na i-a-announce na we are now going to give Pfizer, we are now going to give Sinovac, we are now going to give AstraZeneca,” she told CNN Philippines.
She added, “Come to the vaccination and then whatever vaccines you will get there, then you have the jab. if they do not like the vaccines given during that time, they go down to the end of the line.”
The Muntinlupa City government’s announcement on Facebook on May 19 for the vaccination schedule for health workers (A1), senior citizens (A2) and persons with comorbidities (A3) no longer indicated the type of vaccine to be used.
Tez Navarro, Muntinlupa Public Information Office chief, confirmed that the city government will no longer announce in advance the vaccine brand to be used to comply with the instructions of Cabotaje and Interior Usec. Jonathan Malaya.
As of May 19, Muntinlupa has vaccinated 35,013 residents with their first dose, and 12,253 with their second dose for a total of 47,266.
Mayor Jaime Fresnedi had earlier said the city government is aiming to vaccinate the eligible 385,000 residents, or 70 percent of the population, by November this year.