The Department of Health (DOH) on Monday, May 10, said 25 percent or 501,600 of the more than two million doses of AstraZeneca vaccines that arrived in the country last Saturday from the Covax Facility have been allocated to the National Capital Region (NCR).

In a virtual forum, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said NCR has the highest allocation because "this is where our main focus is so that we can have herd containment here in this epicenter of this disease."

But, she said, all regions are set to get AstraZeneca vaccines.

Vergeire said the 193,000 doses of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccines set to arrive in the country on the said day, on the other hand, will be given to the NCR, Cebu and Davao as said areas have the established capabilities to handle the vaccines requiring ultra low freezer storage.

"These are the areas that have been tried and tested during our simulation activities that can handle these vaccines and prevent wastage," she said.

Meanwhile, Vergeire said the DOH is already finalizing its application for the emergency use authorization (EUA) of the Sinopharm vaccines with the Food and Drug Administration.

"We were already instructed to process and facilitate the application for the EUA of Sinopharm. We are doing that right now," she said.

"This is the pathway we are looking right now for Sinopharm because it will be faster. Instead of manufacturers, it is the government applying for the EUA," she added.

Vergeire said they are just waiting for the completion of the required documents before they can file their application.

"We can only apply when we have complete documents already. There are documents required in applying for EUA. For now, we are asking documents from the World Health Organization. Once we complete it, we will apply immediately," she said.