The country is not yet capable of inoculating more people against Covid-19 because of limited vaccine supply, Malacañang said on Monday.
The Philippines has so far received only 1.12 million doses of donated Covid-19 vaccines, which has raised concern as to when the country would achieve herd immunity.
“Well, sa akin po, puwede siguro talagang mapabilisan,” Palace spokesman Harry Roque said, referring to the inoculation drive.
“Pero let me explain na limitado naman po ang bakuna natin ngayon at ang ating binabakunahan ngayon po ang ating mga medical frontliners,” he continued.
Roque said the vaccination drive was also seeing delays because some health workers, who were the first in line for the vaccines, had elected not to get jabbed with specific vaccine brands.
“Isa po iyan sa dahilan kung bakit medyo mabagal talaga ang rollout kasi iyong mga umayaw ng Sinovac ay kinakailangang balikan at i-offer uli ng AstraZeneca,” he said.
“Pero kapag dumami na po ang supply natin at binuhos na po natin iyan, dinistribute na natin iyan sa pamamagitan ng lokal na pamahalaan at wala na pong pilian, mas mapapabilis po talaga iyong proseso.”
Vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. earlier said that the government was expecting 161 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines to arrive this year.
Only 5.1 million doses, however, are expected to arrive in the first quarter of 2021. John Ezekiel J. Hirro