The Philippines is still finalizing some arrangements after it pledged to donate Covid-19 vaccines to Myanmar and Papua New Guinea, an official of the Department of Health (DOH) said.
"We are still negotiating with Myanmar... Iyong PNG pinag-uusapan pa (With PNG, it is also under negotiation)," said DOH Undersecretary Myrna Cabotaje during a recent public briefing.
Amid talks about vaccine donation, Cabotaje assured the public that the Philippines has enough supply of Covid-19 vaccines.
"We have enough, we have sufficient vaccine supplies. May mga particular doses na ang kanilang shelf life ay mag-i-expire. Pero nag-extend, nag-apply na po ng extension ng shelf life either ang manufacturer or ang DOH (There are particular doses whose shelf life is about to expire. But the manufacturer or the DOH have applied for an extension of shelf life),” she said.
"Dapat nating alalahanin that shelf life talaga ng bakuna, kasi these are very new, ay talagang short (We have to remember that the shelf life of vaccines—because these are very new, is really short). So we need to look at the stability data," she added.
Meanwhile, Cabotaje said that the DOH is further strengthening its vaccine information campaign to encourage more people to get vaccinated.
"Pinapaigting natin iyong ating tinatawag na social advocacy. Nagkakaroon tayo ng mga town halls – big and small, mga maliliit na town hall meetings (We're intensifying what we call social advocacy. We're conducting big and small town hall meetings)," she said.
"Tapos iyong nagkakaroon tayo ng mga social mobilizers. Pina-prioritize ang areas kung saan mababa ang coverage para mas bigyan sila ng kaukulang information (Then we have social mobilizers. We prioritize areas where coverage is low in order to give them necessary information)," she added.