DOH: Delays in some vaccine deliveries possible due to India’s COVID-19 surge

The Philippines is anticipating delays in the delivery of coronavirus vaccines from India as the South Asian nation battles a surge in cases, the Department of Health (DOH) said Wednesday.

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said the vaccine cluster is reassessing the distribution of vaccines to account for possible delays.

“Because of what’s happening in India they have stopped muna ‘yung kanilang commitments to other countries. Hindi lang naman tayo ang medyo nagkaroon ng ganyang issue,” she said in an online briefing.

(Because of what’s happening in India, they have stopped their commitments to other countries. We are not the only ones facing this issue.)

“Flexible po ang mga plano natin (Our plans are flexible) so that we can be able to adapt and to adjust if ever there will be these kinds of things that will happen,” she added.

The Philippine envoy to India earlier said 8 million doses of Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin will be delivered by the end of May.

The country also expects 30 million doses of the Novavax jab later this year.

The Philippines has imposed a temporary ban on travelers from India, which is grappling with a spike in COVID-19 cases and a new coronavirus variant.

“Mag-iingat tayo kasi nakikita na natin ‘yung nangyayari sa kanila at ayaw na natin na magkaroon pa ng enabler ang ibang variants na pumasok dito sa ating bansa para makapag-cause pa ng further transmission ng sakit,” Vergeire said.

(We are being cautious because we have seen what is happening in India and we don’t want to enable other variants to enter the country and cause further transmission of COVID-19.)—AOL, GMA News