VACCINATION DAY In San Juan City on Tuesday, senior citizens, health workers, and adults with illnesses gather at San Juan Arena to get their first dose of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine. The Department of Health has given over-65s in Metro Manila until Wednesday to register with their local governments for vaccination. —NIÑO JESUS ORBETA
MANILA, Philippines — Metro Manila has the capacity to administer 120,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine per day if there is a steady supply of vaccines in the country, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) said Thursday.
“In NCR (National Capital Region) alone, we can do at least 120,000 vaccination per day,” MMDA General Manager Jojo Garcia said in an online press briefing hosted by the Department of Health.
“’Yung sinasabing more than 120,000 capacity ng LGUs ito [ay possible] kapag dumating na ang maraming vaccine, kasi right now may priority pa tayo, meaning kahit na gustong magpabakuna ng ordinary na tao, hindi pwede dahil may priority pa,” he said.
(The 120,000 capacity for vaccination of local government units (LGUs) is possible if the bulk of vaccines will arrive. Right now we are still implementing a priority list, which means ordinary people who want to be vaccinated can’t receive the vaccines yet.)
Garcia said vaccination for the first dose in Metro Manila can be completed in four to six months if this will be the average number of vaccinations per day in the region.
Garcia did not provide data on the current average vaccination in NCR, but according to statistics from the National Task Force (NTF) against COVID-19 as of April 6, the seven-day average of vaccinated individuals per day nationwide is merely 22,932.
VACCINE ROLLOUT UPDATE
As of 6 April 2021, 2,670 vaccination sites are conducting COVID-19 vaccination in various sites across all regions.
Read: https://t.co/da8IPHh6wl#COVID19PH #WeHealAsOnePH #COVIDvaccinePH #ExplainExplainExplain pic.twitter.com/oR2Lsl71HF
— National Task Force Against COVID19 (@ntfcovid19ph) April 7, 2021
According to the task force, a total of 287,999 doses were administered as first shots, while 21,746 were given as second jabs in Metro Manila.
A total of 545,335 doses have so far been allocated for Metro Manila, the epicenter of COVID-19 cases in the country, based on the NTF’s data.
Nationwide, a total of 922,898 vaccine doses have been administered, composed of 872,213 as first shots, and 50,685 as the second.
Garcia said some LGUs in Metro Manila are having difficulties finding the priority beneficiaries for vaccination. He said some beneficiaries do not want to be listed yet for inoculation because they are awaiting the delivery of vaccines from their preferred brand.
He added that LGUs in the region also welcome as “very good news” the recent approval of the Food and Drug Administration to administer CoronaVac for senior citizens, as it will encourage the elderly to be inoculated with the COVID-19 vaccine from Sinovac Biotech and not just with the AstraZeneca vaccine.