PH gets 3.6M more Covid jabs ahead of ‘Bayanihan, Bakunahan’ 2

MANILA – The latest batch of more than 3.6 million doses of AstraZeneca and Moderna coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) vaccine is expected to boost the second round of the “Bayanihan, Bakunahan” vaccination drive, an adviser of the National Task Force (NTF) Against Covid-19 said on Friday.

“This will be used for our Bayanihan Bakunahan 2, which is where we’ll hopefully achieve the national herd immunity threshold,” Dr. Teodoro Herbosa said on the sidelines of the arrival of the jabs at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 1.

The government, he said, aims to administer seven million doses or more during the vaccination drive from December 15 to 17, with the possibility of extending the program beyond these dates to inoculate even more.

“I do hope that all the LGUs (local government units) all around the Philippines will continue to perform and meet the target of seven million or more. Kasi naka-11 million tayo nung una (Because we had 11 million during the first). So, I do hope they will exceed the target and be able to vaccinate many more,” Herbosa said.

The shipment includes 2,948,000 Moderna doses, 2,102,000 doses of which were procured by the government, and the rest by the private sector.

On the other hand, 698,600 doses of AstraZeneca arrived, procured by local government units and the private sector.

Zuellig Pharma executive Jannette Jakosalem said the batch is the largest shipment they have received from Moderna and would complete the government’s procurement of the vaccine brand for 2021.

“Meron kaming ina-anticipate na about four million for the private sector naman (We are anticipating about four million for the private sector). Hopefully, it will arrive within the month of December,” Jakosalem said.

To date, she said, the country has received almost 20 million Moderna doses, 16 million of which were part of procurement efforts by both the government and the private sector.

She noted that Moderna is conducting studies to assess the impact of its boosters against the Omicron variant.

“Today, it’s half a dose, potentially they’re looking at increasing it to address the Omicron variant,” Jakosalem said.

Herbosa said the country has received about 157 million doses of various Covid-19 vaccine brands.

Meanwhile, he noted that NTF chief implementer and vaccine czar Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. has promised that the country would have received more than 200 million Covid-19 vaccine doses by the end of December.