Quality check delays vaccine rollout, says Roque

FILE – Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque reveals what triggered a pause in vaccine rollout.-INQUIRER/GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE

MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang said Wednesday quality control is holding up the deployment of the COVID-19 vaccine in the country.

Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said the government is checking the quality of the vaccines that arrived in the country before they go out.

“Alam ninyo po iyong pagkaantala ay dahil mayroon po silang pinapa-process na certificate of analysis na kinakailangan. Lalung-lalo na sa Sinovac eh magkaroon ng pag-aaral para makita kung parehas ng quality iyong ibang mga dumating sa atin,” he said in an interview over Radyo Pilipinas.

(The vaccine deployment is deployed because they are still processing the certificate of analysis, which checks if the doses are of the same quality.)

“So, iyon po ang dahilan kung bakit hindi mai-deliver kaagad,” he added.

(That’s the reason vaccines are not delivered immediately.)

He assured that once the quality of the doses is checked, the vaccines are immediately distributed.

Roque made the response after Manila Mayor Isko Moreno questioned the “super slow” deployment of vaccines to big and densely-populated cities like Manila.

READ: Isko Moreno questions ‘superslow’ distribution of COVID-19 vaccines

Moreno said only 8,400 of the one million Sinovac vaccines that arrived in April were earmarked for Manila, which hasn’t yet received its share from the latest shipment.

Of the Pfizer vaccines, Manila got only 1,170 vials. That’s good for 7,020 doses, he added.

READ: Isko Moreno questions ‘superslow’ distribution of COVID-19 vaccines

Two million AstraZeneca doses and 193,000 Pfizer vaccines were just delivered to the Philippines.

READ: 2M more doses of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine via COVAX arrive in PH

READ: In PH now: First shipment of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines from COVAX

So far, 1.1 million health workers have been vaccinated against COVID-19, but just 406,000 seniors have gotten their vaccine, the Department of Health (DOH) said.

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