Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 13) — Vaccination sites nationwide should prioritize using the COVID-19 shots made by AstraZeneca to prevent wastage as it nears expiration, the country’s vaccine czar said on Friday.
Sec. Carlito Galvez said the government plans to use up the 1.5 million doses of the vaccines delivered by COVAX before June 15, two weeks before they are set to expire.
“Wala tayong problema, don’t worry. Kaya ng logistics iyan… Before June 15 matatapos natin ang 1.5 million AstraZeneca kasi sinabihan natin ang ating vaccination sites na unahin muna ang AstraZeneca vaccines,” he said in a media briefing.
[Translation: We don’t have any problem on that, don’t worry. Our logistics can handle it. Before June 15, we will use up 1.5 million AstraZeneca doses because we have told our vaccination sites to prioritize its use.]
Local governments are currently rolling out AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Sinovac, and Sputnik V shots.
The vaccine czar said the target is achievable since more vaccination sites are opening in the next few days.
As of Thursday, 7.7 million vaccine doses have been delivered to the country. Over 2.5 million shots have been administered, with 514,655 completing their two doses to achieve full protection from severe COVID-19. There is also a slight increase in daily vaccinations. From an average of about 35,000 daily shots in the past weeks, it is now averaging at 67,780 doses per day this week
As of May 8, COVAX has delivered 2,030,400 AstraZeneca doses to the Philippines. Of this number, 1.5 million doses are expiring in June, while 530,400 will expire in July.
The Department of Health has also rejected the proposal to vaccinate the A4 group or economic frontliners using the AstraZeneca vaccines nearing expiration. Undersecretary Myrna Cabotaje stressed that the World Health Organization has ordered the prioritization of the healthcare workers, senior citizens, and people with comorbidities when using vaccines donated through COVAX.
