Galvez says vaccines brought by gov't effective vs Indian variant
National Task Force Against COVID-19 chief implementer and vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr on Wednesday night said all procured vaccines by the government are found effective against the Indian variant.
In his report to President Rodrigo Duterte, Galvez also said a US report shows that an intensified vaccination program results in a lower number of COVID-19 cases.
"(President), it's good news that all the vaccines we bought were very effective against the Indian variant. And at the same time, the US released a report that their intensified vaccination program resulted in a lower number of cases," he said.
However, Galvez said there is a "slip" in the deliveries of vaccine for the second quarter.
"Some expected vaccines did not arrive this May, especially Sputnik. We are expecting 1.3 million but only 300,000 will arrive. And then Pfizer that was supposed to arrive in May will come in June,” he said.
He said Pfizer will arrive around June 7 to 11 while Moderna will arrive by June 21. Around one million SInovac doses will come by June 6.
As to AstraZeneca, Galvez said around 1.3 million doses will arrive from COVAX facility and from the procurement.
“Most likely, we will have around 12 million (doses) this coming June,” he said.
Galvez also reported that nearly 4.5 million Filipinos under the A1, A2, and A3 category were vaccinated against COVID-19.
He said they vaccinated around 90 percent of health workers or those who are under the A1 category.
“So by June, we can aspire to have 4 million to 5 million (jabs) per month,” he said.
Galvez also asked Duterte to lead an information drive to address vaccine hesitancy.
He said the remaining health workers are those who are from the barangay and are still hesitating to be vaccinated.
“It will be a big (impact) if we announce, Mr. President, that senior citizens must be vaccinated because only 11 percent of the senior citizens were inoculated,” he said.
“Because the people are listening to you- So we are looking at encouraging our senior citizens and people with comorbidities,” Galvez added. Ella Dionisio/DMS
