Senator Risa Hontiveros on Monday urged the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) to accelerate its current vaccination rate before the more virulent Delta variant starts wreaking havoc in the country.
The IATF itself has confirmed there are already 13 cases of the Delta variant in the country, but health experts have said that fully vaccinated persons are at small risk of hospitalization and death if infected by this variant, the senator noted.
“May laban ka sa Delta kung bakunado ka. Kaya bilis-bilisan na dapat ang rollout ng mga bakuna. Garantisadong proteksyon yan para sa ating mga kababayan (You can fight the Delta variant if you are vaccinated. That’s why the governemnt should fast track the rollout of the vaccines. That is guaranteed protection for our people),” Hontiveros said in a statement.
“Accelerating our vaccination efforts and avoiding complacency are the top two ways to make sure we are a step ahead of Delta,” she stressed.
During the Senate Committee of the Whole’s hearing on the status of the national vaccination program, vaccine czar Secretary Carlito Galvez, Jr. disclosed the government may be able to administer an average of 500,000 vaccinations a day for the third quarter of the year.
But Galvez said the country’s highest daily vaccination rate is only at 322,929, which was on June 15.
“Habang maaga, siguraduhin nating napapalakas natin ang mga Pilipino laban sa Delta. Ngayon pa lang, mag-mass hiring na ng mga vaccinators, magbukas ng mas maraming time slots, at patuloy na itaas ang vaccine confidence sa grassroots (While it’s still early, let’s make sure that all Filipinos can fight the Delta variant. Let’s start mass hiring vaccinators, open more time slots and increase vaccine confidence at the grassroots level),” Hontiveros said.
“Kung ang mga first world countries nga, napa-third wave ng Delta, tayo pa kaya? (If first world countries experience a third wave of the Delta, won’t it happen to us too?)” she pointed out.
The Department of Health (DOH), she said, should also draw up a more robust plan to protect healthcare workers, especially those who were vaccinated with Sinovac, amid a growing international concern over its alleged ineffectiveness in protecting medical workers who received the China-made jabs. The senator is referring to reports medical professionals in Indonesia who were administered with China’s flagship vaccine contracted COVID-19.
Hontiveros said the DOH should have the initiative to roll out a plan for health care workers who were vaccinated with Sinovac in the event they would be infected and forced to take a leave to recover from COVID.
“We cannot afford any more disruptions in our health care system during a pandemic,” she said.
She also said the IATF should respond to the vaccine supply concerns of local government units (LGUs) amid the rising cases in areas outside Metro Manila.
The lawmaker noted the government was able to secure millions of doses to bring the vaccines for delivery to 113 million and these should immediately be distributed.
“The millions of secured doses could be a game changer for us, especially if we have a good logistics and distribution process in our provinces. Let’s not miss this chance,” she further stressed.
Hontiveros said she hopes that no one will be “dropping the ball” this time around.
“Those who dropped the ball on the vaccination in 2020, snowballed into a very huge problem to us now. From imposing timely travel bans, to securing clearance for vaccine deals, to assuring a steady supply of vaccines, the IATF seems to be always just catching up,” she said.
“The IATF has always been playing catch up. That should not happen again in this case with the Delta variant. We must not be caught off-balance. This must not get out of control,” she stressed.