A woman holds a small bottle labelled with a “Coronavirus COVID-19 Vaccine” sticker and a medical syringe in this illustration taken October 30, 2020. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic (file photo)
MANILA, Philippines — Personnel from 34 hospitals in the country will receive the initial batch of Covid-19 vaccines from US drugmaker Pfizer, the Department of Health (DOH) said Monday.
In an online press briefing, DOH Undersecretary and spokesperson Maria Rosario Vergeire said the hospitals will be composed of 32 facilities in Metro Manila, one in Cebu and one in Davao.
“Last Friday we had a meeting with all of these hospitals. It’s a total of 34 hospitals—32 in Metro Manila, one in Cebu, and one in Davao. Ito pong mga hospital na ito binigyan ng mga (These hospitals were given) directive that they should be able to submit to us their verified list of vaccinees and their quick substitution list over the weekend,” Vergeire said when asked about the number of hospitals that will receive the initial batch of vaccines from Pfizer.
“So we have 34 hospitals in all that are eligible to receive these Pfizer vaccines,” she added.
Vergeire did not mention the names of the hospitals, but other government officials have earlier revealed some of the health facilities that will receive the vaccines.
Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr., chief implementer of the National Task Force (NTF) against Covid-19, earlier said that the inoculation shots will go to health workers in four Covid-19 referral hospitals in Metro Manila, namely the Philippine General Hospital in Manila, Lung Center of the Philippines and East Avenue Medical Center in Quezon City, and Dr. Jose Natalio Rodriguez Memorial Medical Center (Tala Hospital) in Caloocan City.
Health Secretary Francisco Duque III also later disclosed that vaccines from Pfizer will likewise be delivered to Southern Philippines Medical Center in Davao City and Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center in Cebu.
Vergeire said most of the hospitals have already submitted their list of beneficiaries but some have yet to complete their quick substitution list. The quick substitution list contains the names of individuals who will replace the original beneficiaries should they back-out or don’t show up on the vaccination day.
Galvez earlier said that the 117,000 doses of Covid-19 vaccine from Pfizer, sourced through the global vaccine sharing scheme Covax facility, will arrive in the country in mid-February.
But NTF deputy chief implementer Vince Dizon later said the arrival of the vaccines from the US drugmaker will be delayed due to the processing of documents. He said, however, that the delivery of the vaccines can still be expected within February.
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