Lawmaker wants PH ready for ‘megavaccination’
MANILA, Philippines — A House official wants vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. to give a briefing on the “megavaccination” drive against COVID-19 amid plans to buy 40 million doses from Pfizer-BioNTech.
Albay Rep. Joey Salceda, chair of House ways and means panel, stressed the need to prepare for the biggest order of jabs such as contingencies for storage and vaccination facilities.
“Given the bulk order, we may seek a briefing with the vaccine czar, Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr., just to get a sense of how the Congress can help. District offices are uniquely well-placed to help the vaccine drive,” Salceda said on Friday.
The Philippines is poised to sign a term sheet to purchase 40 million vaccines from Pfizer. Salceda said the purchase of the Pfizer jabs would be a “make-or-break for economic recovery, so the plans and time-and-motion studies have to be there.”
“But we have to successfully get it into people’s arms. That’s also a monumental challenge that we have never done before on such a scale. The plans and contingencies have to be ready,” he said.
—Julie M. Aurelio
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