The government has administered more than 2.5 million doses during the second round of the "Bayanihan Bakunahan" in some areas from Dec. 15 to 18, an official from the Department of Health (DOH) said on Monday, Dec. 20.
Health Undersecretary and National COVID-19 Vaccination Operations Center (NVOC) Chair Myrna Cabotaje said during a Laging Handa press briefing that the government was able to administer a total of 2,562,454 doses from Dec. 15 to 18. In the data that she provided, a total of 1,071,541 doses were administered on Dec. 15; 768,078 on Dec. 16; 642,425 on Dec. 17; and 62,410 on Dec. 18.
The government said that it aims to fully vaccinate at least seven million Filipinos during the second round of the national vaccination drive.
As of Dec. 19, 56.2 million FIlipinos have received their first dose in the country, while 43.5 million have been fully-vaccinated, according to Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire. She said that despite the challenges such as typhoon Odette, the DOH and the government will continue to ramp up its vaccination efforts to reach its target of fully vaccinating 54 million individuals by the end of 2021.
Meanwhile, in anticipation of the Typhoon Odette, Cabotaje said in a statement that NVOC issued Advisories 118 and 119 which temporarily suspended the Bayanihan Bakunahan - Phase 2 in provinces along the typhoon’s track to prioritize safety of the public, the implementers and vaccines, and called for the implementation of contingency plans of local vaccine operations centers.
“Since early last week, we have issued advisories to help our vaccination sites in the regions prepare for the typhoon. The DOH and the NVOC will also ensure immediate resumption of vaccination in these areas as part of the response or recovery activities in the typhoon-hit areas and we will ensure that only those vaccines that have not been compromised will be administered. We will also continuously support the contingency plans of our Local Government Units to further mitigate wastage,” Cabotaje said.
The NVOC also provided guidance to vaccination sites on proper storage management for the COVID-19 vaccines. As a result, several sites have prepared generator sets before the typhoon made landfall, while others mobilized vaccine storage to hospitals and facilities with continuous power or generator sets.
The NVOC further reported that of the 639 Local Government Units (LGUs) from Regions IV-B, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X, XI, XII, CARAGA, and Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao that had to adjust their vaccination activities due to the typhoon.
All regions will resume vaccination activities except select LGUs in Regions IV-B MIMAROPA (Palawan), VI (Antique and Negros Occidental), VIII (Southern Leyte), and CARAGA (Surigao Del Norte and Province of Dinagat Islands). Only Region VII will postpone region-wide National Vaccination Day II activities on December 20 to 22 to make way for disaster response.
100 Pfizer vaccine vials wasted
As of the NVOC’s Dec. 19 assessment, only Region VI (Bingawan, Iloilo Province) has reported wastage of 100 vials of the Pfizer vaccine.
There were no other reports of damage to cold chain storage facilities and of vaccine wastage, with contingency plans executed to transfer vaccines in areas with continuous power supply and generator sets. The NVOC continues its regular assessment to mitigate vaccine wastage and to ensure that only vaccines maintained at the appropriate storage temperatures will continue to be used in our campaign.
Health Secretary Francisco Duque has also reached out to the Department of Energy, the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Office of Civil Defense to expedite power restoration and availability of fuel for generators in the affected areas.
Meanwhile, the National Task Force also assured the public that vaccine supply will continue to be provided to the provinces in the coming months.