Galvez: Health workers top priority for COVID-19 vaccines until 2 million get shots

The Philippines will prioritize health workers in its vaccination efforts against COVID-19 until two million of them have received shots to protect them from the coronavirus, vaccine czar Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. said on Friday.

“All vaccine supplies that we have received and will be delivered this month are specifically allocated to all healthcare workers from all regions across the country,” Galvez said in a statement.

“Initial deliveries for April will also follow this allocation until we have completely inoculated nearly two million individuals under this sector,” he added.

Healthcare workers are at the top of the priority list for vaccination against COVID-19, followed by senior citizens and other sectors.

“The succeeding sectors in the priority list, including those who will take part in boosting public trust on the vaccines, will be attended as soon as we receive the supplies for the second and third quarters,” Galvez said.

On Thursday, a total of 487,200 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Oxford University and British-Swedish pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca arrived in the country.

The World Health Organization said that 4.5 million doses of AstraZeneca’s vaccine would arrive in the country batches before the end of May.

Galvez has said that the government would conduct a major rollout of vaccines against the COVID-19 in the third and fourth quarters of the year.

“We remind our countrymen especially our co-workers in government that in these trying times, it is our moral obligation to ensure that our healthcare system is protected and will be able to withstand possible spikes in COVID 19 cases,” Galvez said.

“By respecting and following the priority framework, we will be able to reduce COVID-19 morbidity and mortality, protect the populations most at-risk to the disease, slow down the transmission rate, and minimize social and economic disruptions. We need to preserve our healthcare institution,” he added.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that the country’s vaccine supply from the COVAX Facility could be jeopardized if the country fails to follow the prioritization list in the rollout.

The Department of Health will investigate the inoculation of some individuals who are not medical frontliners, in disregard the prioritization of healthcare workers in the vaccination rollout.

"Aalamin natin, papa-invesigate natin, 'yun ang gagawin natin to find out kasi nga lagi ko namang sinasabi na ang bakuna nga natin para sa healthcare workers, kinakailangan 3.4 million doses eh 600,000 lang yung dumating, so 17% lang, so kulang," said DOH Secretary Francisco Duque III in a report on Dobol B TV.

A total of 487,200 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Oxford University and British-Swedish pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca have arrived in the Philippines on Thursday.

Meanwhile, one million doses of COVID-19 vaccines from Sinovac that the Philippines purchased will arrive in the third week of March.

The COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer under the COVAX facility may arrive in the country in April.

The first batch of 20 million doses of Moderna COVID-19 vaccines will arrive in the Philippines by June. - NB/BAP, GMA News