Gov’t eyes ‘vax to the max’ scheme

A health worker prepares a dose of the BioNtech Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine during a vaccination drive in Manila. File photo AFP

MANILA, Philippines — With the country receiving this month its biggest ever COVID-19 vaccine supply, vaccine czar Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. on Tuesday said the government was considering a “vax to the max” scheme that would allow anyone to get jabbed. “This means we will really have to vaccinate all those who are willing. It won’t be sequential anymore. We will widen our reach, anybody who wants to get vaccinated will be vaccinated,” Galvez said in a meeting with President Duterte, a recording of which was aired on state television. He said the proposal came from business leaders who recently met with him and Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles. He said that for the first half of October alone, 20 million vaccine doses were delivered to the government and private sector. “Right now, the supply is not anymore an issue. We have more than 38 million doses in our warehouses,” Galvez said, adding that the government was capable of administering 1.5 million doses a day to the general population, including children. —JEROME ANING