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Palace appeals for patience amid COVID-19 vaccine shortage


Malacañang has asked for patience amid a shortage of COVID-19 vaccines in the entire country, saying it was due to tight global supply.

Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque made the appeal on Thursday, the day the national government turned over 27 mechanical ventilators, 31 bilevel positive airway pressure machines, five high-flow nasal cannulas, 12,000 personal protective equipment and 50,000 doses of Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine to Iloilo City, one of the cities experiencing a surge in infections.

“Hindi lang po sa Iloilo nagkukulang. Lahat po ng sulok ng Pilipinas, kulang ang supply ng vaccine dahil unti-unti po talaga ang pagdating ng bakuna,” Roque said.

[It is not just in Iloilo where the vaccine supply is lacking. The same is true in every nook and corner of the country because the vaccines arrive in trickles.]

“Humihingi po kami ng pasensiya, ‘yan po ang realidad [We are asking for patience, that's the reality]. We cannot do anything about that but we have already vaccinated 10 million people, which is a sizeable amount. We ask for patience, since our vaccine supply is less than 20 million,”  Roque added.

The government is eyeing to vaccinate 58 million or 70% of the population of highly-urbanized areas by the end of the year to achieve herd immunity.

The vaccine supply shortage, however, has prompted the government to target population protection instead by vaccinating health workers, senior citizens and persons with comorbidities first since these sectors are at high risk of getting a severe COVID-19 or dying from COVID-19. — BM, GMA News

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