Allow local health execs to give next priority group unused vaccines — Villanueva

FIRST JAB A doctor in Baguio City gets her first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine produced by the Chinese company Sinovac Biotech during the vaccination drive launch in the Cordillera region on March 5. —EV ESPIRITU

MANILA, Philippines — Senator Joel Villanueva urged the national government Friday to allow local health officials to reallocate unused vaccines on the next priority groups instead of returning them back to Metro Manila.

Citing the archipelagic nature of the country, Villanueva said allowing local health officials to reallocate leftover vaccines will prevent spoilage.

“The DOH ground commanders can be authorized to give them to the next priority groups,” Villanueva said in a statement.

“Marami tayong isla. Hindi naman tayo isang landmass na pwedeng isakay mo kaagad sa trak. Kung ikakarga ulit sa eroplano, ang laki ng gastos at abala,” the senator added.

(We have a lot of islands. We not in one landmass that you can just transport them in trucks. If we have to transport them through planes, that’s a lot of expenses.)

Villanueva likewise said local health officials should be trusted to make the “snap adjustments” for as long as these comply with the vaccination priority list that gives no room for “line jumpers.”

“Huwag na po natin hayaan mag-round trip ang bakuna.  After all, it will not be earning any mileage points,” Villanueva said. (We should not allow our vaccines to go on a round-trip. It will not earn any mileage points.)

“Nariyan po ang ating mga seniors, lalo na po yung ating mga essential workers sa ganung age group,” he added. (We have our senior citizens and essential workers who are in that age group.)

More than half of the COVID-19 vaccines from British-Swede drugmaker AstraZeneca that were allocated to Central Visayas were not used by health workers as the vaccination drive in the region ended on Tuesday, an official of the Department of Health (DOH) earlier said.

Dr. Mary Jean Loreche, the DOH regional spokesperson, said the unused vaccines can be redistributed to other subgroups on the priority list, such as senior citizens and other frontliners in the region.

However, the DOH earlier said it will recall any excess vaccines after the deadline given to healthcare facilities to utilize the COVID-19 vaccines and redistribute these to areas with high cases of the disease.

“That may look good on paper but there are geographical realities and transportation restrictions. Pero aminin po natin na (We have to admit that) we don’t have the flexibility to make that instant diversion,” Villanueva said.

“Ang end result pa rin naman po ay (The end result is still) by vaccinating other key groups in the community, we are increasing their common defense against the virus. We are preventing outbreaks,” he added.

/MUF