PH COVID-19 vaccination program now faces logistical problems, says Galvez

MANILA, Philippines — How to effectively administer stockpiled COVID-19 vaccines has replaced supply as the key issue now facing the country’s vaccination drive, vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. said Wednesday.

In a briefing with President Rodrigo Duterte aired early Wednesday, Galvez said the country currently has a stockpile of about 39 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine and the government is addressing the logistical challenges in deploying and administering the vaccines to provinces and municipalities.

“Dati, supply ang problema natin, ngayon problem natin ‘yung throughput, kung paano natin ia-administer ‘yung mga vaccines,” he said.

(Before, the supply was our problem. Now it’s the throughput, or how we would deploy and administer the vaccines.)

“Ina-address na natin ‘yung logistical challenge at regional provincial and municipal deployment and administration,” Galvez added.

(We are already addressing the logistical challenge and the regional, municipal, provincial deployment and administration of vaccines.)

Galvez said the government is eyeing to fast-track the deployment of vaccines from the national warehouse to vaccination sites, which, at present, takes about seven to nine days.

The government aims to ramp up with the vaccination to 1.5 million jabs a day and to vaccinate those who are willing, to achieve a bandwagon effect.

/MUF