No wastage: Galvez vows AstraZeneca vaccines will be used up by June 15

ANOTHER JAB Hospital workers and personnel of the Philippine National Police receive their AstraZeneca COVID-19 shots at a vaccination center in Marikina City on March 24. —NIÑO JESUS ORBETA

MANILA, Philippines — Vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. assured on Thursday that 1.5 million doses of the two million AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines from the COVAX facility and expiring on June 30 will be used up by June 15.

“Kayang kaya natin i-manage yung AstraZeneca. By June 15, we are expecting na matatapos po lahat iyon,” Galvez said in an event in Makati Medical Center.

(We can certainly manage the AstraZeneca vaccines. By June 15, we are expecting that we will use up the jabs.)

Galvez noted the plan of the Department of Health to use the 1.5 million AstraZeneca jabs as first doses, while over 500,000 expiring in July will be administered as second doses of those previously vaccinated.

“So wala tayong problema, do not worry. Kaya ng mga logistics namin yan,” he said.

(We don’t have a problem, do not worry. Our logistics can handle that.)

“We are simulating na before June 15, matatapos natin yung 1.5 million AstraZeneca. Sinabihan natin yung ating vaccination sites na unahin muna yung AstraZeneca vaccines,” he went on.

(We are simulating that before June 15, we will use up the 1.5 million doses of AstraZeneca. We told vaccination sites to use the AstraZeneca vaccines first.)

Vaccines delivered by the COVAX facility are allocated to the top three priority groups — health workers (A1), senior citizens (A2), and persons with comorbidities (A3).

The World Health Organization, which manages the COVAX facility, said the Philippines must follow the priority list for the vaccination to ensure the continued rollout of vaccines from the global vaccine sharing pool.

EDV