COVID-19 CRISIS

NTF tells LGUs to prioritize 2nd dose of Sinovac vaccine amid delay in next shipment

The National Task Force Against COVID-19 on Tuesday urged local authorities to prioritize second doses for individuals who have already received their first shot of a Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine after its Chinese manufacturer said its next shipment to the Philippines will be delayed.

Secretary Vince Dizon said the next Sinovac delivery has been moved to July 18 but added that vaccine czar Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. is working to move up the arrival of the shipment to next week.

Dizon said the delivery was delayed due to global supply constraints.

In a separate statement, Galvez said the delayed Sinovac shipment consists of 2.5 million doses.

“With this development, we advise all LGUs who have Sinovac vaccines in their inventory to ensure that the allocation for the second dose should be used as the second dose,” he said.

“Huwag po nating gamitin as first dose ang para sa second dose na Sinovac para masiguro na magkakaroon ng full protection ang ating mga kababayan na nakakuha na ng first dose,” Galvez added.

(Let’s not use the supplies intended for second doses as the first dose to ensure the full protection of our countrymen who have already received their first shot.)

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III also assured the public that the interval between the first and second dose could be from three to six months, citing the Vaccine Expert Panel.

“Wala pong problema ‘yan kahit magkaroon ng konting delay. Ang mahalaga, kunin pa rin ang second dose (There’s no problem if there’s a delay. What’s important is that you get your second dose),” he said.

The Philippines has so far administered more than 12 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines from Sinovac, AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Sputnik V, and Moderna. 

The country has logged over 1.4 million COVID-19 cases with more than 1.3 million recoveries and 25,192 deaths as of Monday afternoon. —KBK, GMA News