UNITED States (US) Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff yesterday announced $5 million in additional coronavirus disease (COVID-19) funding that will be given to the Philippine government to boost the country’s vaccination drive.
Speaking at the “Healthy and Safe Back to School Event” held at the Gregoria De Jesus Elementary School in Caloocan City, Emhoff said the donation will be given through the US Agency for International Development (USAID).
“This assistance will support vaccine distribution for children and adults in line with the Philippine government’s COVID-19 vaccination efforts to intensify and strengthen the country’s wall of immunity,” said Emhoff.
The US government has already provided nearly $50 million in COVID-19 response assistance to the Philippines and has donated more than 33 million doses since the beginning of the pandemic.
“The United States has trained health care workers, strengthened the vaccine supply chain, supported effective communications campaigns, deployed mobile vaccination clinics, and bolstered economic recovery efforts in the Philippines,” said the US Embassy in a statement.
Emhoff is in the Philippines as part of the delegation of US Vice President Kamala Harris in her visit to America’s long-standing ally.
This is his second trip to the Philippines following his attendance in the inauguration of President Marcos Jr. last June 30.
The Department of Health (DOH) welcomed the additional aid of the US government.
Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said the donation will be helpful in ensuring that schools are healthy and safe havens for all students.
“In ensuring the health and safety of our learners, we acknowledge that Filipino children spend significant amounts of their time in schools, making schools strategic settings for health promotion,” said the DOH officer-in-charge.
Vergeire said the DOH will hold another round of the “Bakunahan Bayan” tentatively from December 5 to 7.
“This is so we can encourage more people to get vaccinated and, at the same time, bring the vaccines closer to the communities,” she said, adding that this is on top of the regular vaccination held in over 19,000 vaccination sites across the country.
“We want to continuously enhance our efforts to give more first booster shots,” she added.
Based on the latest data from the DOH, there are already a total of 73,707,875 fully vaccinated individuals in the country.
However, only 20,866,539 have been able to receive the first booster shots, as of November 20.
Under the existing policy, those aged 5 to 11 years old are eligible to get 2 doses of the primary series, those aged 12 to 49 years old are eligible for 2 doses of the primary series and 1 booster shot, while adults with comorbidities, 50 years old and above, and healthcare workers are eligible for 2 doses of the primary series and 2 booster shots.
WASTAGE
Senate deputy minority leader Risa Hontiveros yesterday said the President and the entire Cabinet should act now to reduce vaccine wastage after the DOH told senators that some P15.6 billion worth of COVID-19 vaccines have been wasted.
“The fact remains na pataas ng pataas pa rin ang rate ng (that the rate of) vaccine wastage (is going up). There is a steady trend of waste which means that efforts to curb it have been ineffective so far. Even if the WHO (World Health Organization) adjusted the threshold, we cannot afford the cost,” Hontiveros said.
She said the country has no “luxury” of wasting funds especially at a time when the economy is badly battered by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The DOH knows the drivers of vaccine wastage and I trust they can increase their efforts to reduce wastage. More importantly, the President and the entire Cabinet should step in to ensure an accelerated vaccination program. After all, their policies create the public perception that the pandemic is over, that’s why it’s important that our countrymen must remain vigilant and also take booster shots,” Hontiveros said in a mix of Filipino and English.
Sen. Ronald dela Rosa asked health officials to shed light on the vaccine wastage so senators can craft a measure to prevent it from happening again.
On the other hand, Sen. Christopher Go said concerned officials should be asked to disclose the contents of the non-disclosure agreement in the procurement of vaccines.
“Gusto natin ng transparency. Ako mismo gusto kong malaman kung ano ito. Kung kailangan ipatawag ang mga secretaries na pumirma for example Sec. Dominguez, Sec. Galvez, ipatawag (We want transparency. I also want to know what this is. If we need to summon former secretaries for example [Finance] Sec. [Carlos] Dominguez, Sec. [Carlito] Galvez, we will do it),” Go said.
He said the Commission on Audit, which made a post audit of the procurement, should also clarify if the NDAs could be seen by senators. — With Raymond Africa
