COVID-19 vax drive extension seen as DOH misses aim anew

JAILHOUSE JABS | Inmates await their shots at New Bilibid prison in Muntinlupa. —MARIANNE BERMUDEZ.

MANILA, Philippines — The government’s fourth national vaccination drive has reached only 44 percent of its target on the second day of implementation and Department of Health (DOH) Undersecretary Myrna Cabotaje blamed the supposed complacency among seniors and those who already got their primary doses.

At the Laging Handa briefing on Saturday, Cabotaje said that 836,162 cumulative doses were administered as of March 11. Of the number, 202,915 were first doses, while 273,701 were booster shots.

But, she said, there were only 23,868 seniors inoculated while only 359,546 were given their second doses while the inoculation drive was aimed at 1.8 million individuals.

“Vaccination of seniors remains low, but our regional offices and [local governments] used different strategies to make vaccines accessible to communities,” said Cabotaje, who also heads the National Vaccination Operations Center.

Public indifference

She suggested that the health department may extend the fourth vaccination drive.

Cabotaje said that the poor response might be due to the indifference among recipients of primary doses toward getting boosters and the perception that the threat of COVID-19 is no longer there due to declining infections.

“Complacency is still there because they think that they no longer need booster [shots]because they have second doses already. Also, [they think] cases are down so there is no longer threat of the virus,” Cabotaje said.

Conducting national vaccination drives is also important, she said, because they should entail “more effort and resources outside the regular vaccination.”

Regions with low turnout include Mimaropa, Bicol, Soccsksargen and Central Visayas. Top performing regions were Central Luzon, Calabarzon and Metro Manila.

Still effective

Meanwhile, Cabotaje also bared that the shelf life of Sinovac and Sputnik V were extended for one year and three months, respectively.

There are also about 12 million to 13 million doses of AstraZeneca whose shelf life was extended. But she said formal approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had yet to be issued.

FDA Deputy Director General Oscar Gutierrez had said that vaccines with extended shelf life remain safe and effective as long as their “potency” was also retained.

The batches of vaccines undergo tests that assess their chemical, physical, biological and microbiological properties, he said.

“The FDA will not approve [the extension of vaccines’ shelf life] if there are changes in the safety, efficacy and quality profile based on the data submitted by the manufacturer,” Gutierrez said on Friday.

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