Nat’l vax drive report still being updated: Cabotaje

The Philippines has administered a total of 7,628,432 doses of Covid-19 vaccine during the massive national vaccination drive from November 29 to December 1, Health Undersecretary Myrna Cabotaje said on Thursday, noting that the “Bayanihan, Bakunahan” accomplishment report is still being updated.

“For the three days, hindi pa po kumpleto ang ating report (our reports are not yet complete). May (There is an) updating that is happening. But we are very happy with the initial report because this is more than two times the daily vaccination rate,” said Cabotaje, who is also the National Vaccine Operations Center (NVOC) chairperson, during the Laging Handa briefing.

Cabotaje reported that as of 6 a.m., a total of 2,713,731 doses were administered on Monday, 2,466,728 on Tuesday, and 2,447,973 on Wednesday.

In a separate interview, National Task Force (NTF) against Covid-19 chief implementer and vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. expects the inoculation rate during the Bayanihan, Bakunahan drive to still go up as more reports are yet to be sent by some local government units (LGUs).

“Ito po ay initial na numero pa lang at patuloy po tayong tumatanggap ng mga datos mula sa ibat-ibang mga LGU lalo na yung mga lugar na hindi gaanong malakas yung internet at signal (This is just an initial number and we continue to receive data from different LGUs, especially on the areas that have a low internet connection and poor signal,” Galvez said in a vaccination event in Laguna on Thursday.

***Vaccine accumulative reports per region (Screengrab from the Laging Handa live stream)

Cabotaje earlier said many of the healthcare workers have concentrated their attention on the vaccination rollout.

“They wanted to finish their vaccination activities before they submitted their reports,” she added.

Cabotaje also noted that there were isolated reports that some individuals still have vaccine preferences.

“We need to convince them but we cannot also force them to get the available vaccine. Iyong iba, bumalik na lang (Some are just coming back). And anyway, marami pa naman tayong araw na puwede silang bumalik (there are still more days that they can come back) for their preferred vaccine but we would like to relay to everyone na kung anong bakuna diyan (that whatever vaccine it is), this will offer the same protection like any other vaccine,” she said.

Meanwhile, Cabotaje said 85 percent of the partially administered jabs during the three-day massive vaccination campaign were used as first doses.

Calabarzon, Central Luzon, and Central Visayas are the top-performing regions based on the initial report of the cumulative number of Covid-19 jabs during the first three days of the “Bayanihan, Bakunahan” drive.

Among the top-performing provinces are Cavite, Laguna, and Cebu Province.

Ilocos Region, National Capital Region (NCR), Cordillera Administrative Region, Mimaropa, and the Cagayan Valley are those areas that have exceeded their vaccination targets as of Wednesday.

Cabotaje said LGUs can now voluntarily extend their respective vaccination rollout until Friday.

“So that we can sustain the enthusiasm to get vaccinated,” she said, noting that those challenges experienced on the first three days of the rollout have become the government’s opportunity for the extension of the Bayanihan, Bakunahan vaccination campaign.

The LGUs are reminded to allow walk-in vaccinees.

Cabotaje also said the government will pursue another round of the national massive vaccination drive from Dec. 15 to 17.

There are still 22 million Filipinos who have yet to receive their primary doses of the Covid-19 vaccine, she added.

Some LGUs from the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), and Region 4B (Mimaropa) are among the first areas to signify the willingness to extend vaccination.

In an advisory on Thursday, the NTF allowed the LGUs to voluntarily extend their respective “Bayanihan, Bakunahan” drive until Friday.

This, after some LGUs requested the National Vaccine Operations Center (NVOC) to extend the three-day Covid-19 vaccination drive as a “large” number of individuals are still flocking to the vaccination sites to get inoculated.

Source: Philippines News Agency

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