The government is prepared to use all assets, including military aircraft, to bring the coronavirus vaccines to far-flung places in the country.
President Duterte made the assurance about the government's transport of the life-saving vaccines but asked concerned local government units to inform them in advance if they have the necessary cold storage facilities for the vaccines.
The government has so far administered more than 10 million doses of coronavirus vaccines, allowing the full vaccination of 2.5 million people in the country.
"We are using all assets of government be it the plane, boat o anong klaseng barko para maihatid lang sa far-flung places ang bakuna (to deliver the vaccines to far-flung places)," Duterte said in a televised address Monday, June 28.
"You must have the refrigeration or if you don't have one, tell us in advance so that hindi kami magkamali magpadala tapos (so we won't make a delivery mistake) you don't have the equipment to keep the temperature desired for vaccines, masasayang lang (it will go to waste)," he said.
Duterte said having the proper cold storage facility was crucial to ensure the integrity of the vaccines. "The military establishment is ready for anything... the military assures us they will take care of the delivery for as long as you have the refrigeration or equipment necessary to preserve the efficacy of the medicine," he added.
The country has already secured more than 17.4 million doses of coronavirus vaccines, that included the recent deliveries of 1 million Sinovac jabs and 249,600 Moderna shots.
The government recently included 10 urban cities on the priority list for vaccine distribution to curb the surge in coronavirus cases in these areas. These places are Bacolod City, Iloilo City, Cagayan de Oro City, Baguio City, Zamboanga City, Dumaguete City, Tuguegarao City, General Santos City, Naga City, and Legazpi City.
Prior to the expansion, the government has initially distributed COVID-19 jabs in Metro Manila, Metro Cebu, Metro Davao, Bulacan, Batangas, Cavite, Laguna, Pampanga, and Rizal. More than 2. 2 million people have so far been fully vaccinated.
The government earlier set a target to vaccinate up to 70 million adult Filipinos to achieve herd immunity before the end of the year. The limited supply prompted the government to set a lower vaccination goal to attain “population protection” in National Capital Region Plus this year.