Gov't 'very much prepared' to start COVID-19 vaccination —DOH

It is all systems go for the scheduled start of the government's vaccination program against COVID-19 on Monday, according to Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire.

Interviewed on Unang Balita hours before the first symbolic vaccination, Vergeire said the vaccines have already been delivered to seven priority hospitals in Metro Manila.

"Sa ngayon wala tayong nakikitang [problema], we are very much prepared," she said.

"Kagabi hanggang madaling araw tayo po ay nagdala ng mga bakuna sa mga iba't ibang ospital na ito para ma-secure na po nila doon sa loob ng kanilang ospital."

The seven priority hospitals in Metro Manila are:

• Philippine General Hospital
• Lung Center of the Philippines
• Veterans Memorial Medical Center
• Dr. Jose N. Rodriguez Memorial Hospital and Sanitarium (Tala Hospital)
• PNP General Hospital
• Pasig City General Hospital

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• V. Luna Medical Center

Vaccination in the provinces, particularly in Cebu and Davao, meanwhile, are expected to start this week, Vergeire said.

She said the initial run of the vaccination was focused in Metro Manila as it is the "epicenter" of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country.

"Pagkatapos po, pag dumating na 'yung mga ibang supply natin pupunta na tayo sa ibang rehiyon," Vergeire said.

Some 600,000 vaccine doses from Chinese-firm Sinovac Biotech arrived in the Philippines late Sunday afternoon -- the first official batch of COVID-19 vaccines to reach the country.

From the Villamor Airbase where the vaccines arrived, they were first brought to a storage facility in Marikina City before they were transported -- via convoys secured by policemen -- to the seven priority hospitals.

It took 40 minutes, however, before V. Luna General Hospital's pharmacist officially received the 600 doses delivered to them, but Vergeire said this would not affect the efficacy of the vaccines as they are contained in properly secured transport boxes. 

"We made sure na kapag tina-transport 'yang mga bakunang 'yan ay nakalagay sila sa appropriate transport boxes, so when we remove these dun sa boxes sa crate, nililipat po natin siya sa isang temperature-controlled na transport box, so kung nagkaroon man ng ganyang delays bago maibigay sa ating mga ospital, ito naman po ay hindi makakasira ng ating mga bakuna," she said.

Of the 600,000 doses, 500,000 are allocated for medical frontliners while 100,000 are for military personnel. —KBK, GMA News