MANILA, Philippines — The country’s first batch of Johnson & Johnson’s one-shot COVID-19 vaccines will be used to inoculate senior citizens and persons with comorbidities, the Department of Health said Monday.
Health Undersecretary Myrna Cabotaje, chair of the national vaccination operations center, said 3.2 million J&J doses donated by the United States through the COVAX facility will arrive in the country on July 19.
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Senior citizens and people with comorbidities will be prioritized in the administration of the single-dose vaccine.
Cabotaje said the J&J jab is “very convenient” for the elderly and those living in far-flung areas.
The government is hoping to inoculate more than 90% of the country’s older population by the end of July.
But inoculation rate among senior citizens remains low, with only 10.69% or over 915,593 completing their vaccination. Meanwhile, 31.02% or 2.65 million have received their first dose.
The department earlier identified false information about COVID-19 vaccines and concerns on possible side effects as the reasons why the elderly are hesitant to get vaccinated.
Citing a directive from vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr., Cabotaje also said at least 100,000 J&J doses will be distributed per region.
In early July, Johnson & Johnson said its COVID-19 vaccine showed promise against the highly contagious Delta variant in a laboratory study.
Since March, the government has administered more than 13 million COVID-19 vaccine doses. Broken down, over 9.6 million doses were administered as first shots, while around 3.5 million were second jabs.