LGUs urged to promptly administer bivalent COVID-19 jabs

MANILA, Philippines — Health Secretary Ted Herbosa called on local government units to immediately distribute donated bivalent COVID-19 jabs that would expire in November.

Over 390,000 bivalent vaccine doses donated by Lithuania arrived in the Philippines early this month. A bivalent vaccine targets both the original strain of the virus that causes COVID-19 and Omicron subvariants.

“[We] need to start vaccinating people immediately,” Herbosa said in a Palace briefing Tuesday.

Senior citizens, people with comorbidities, and health workers will be prioritized in the rollout of bivalent shots.

“We’re also negotiating to acquire more. There are more that want to donate. There are probably some procurements that we need to do,” Herbosa said.

He, however, acknowledged the procurement of vaccines hit a snag following the expiration of the state of calamity declaration on Dec. 31, 2022.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. did not extend the state of calamity declaration, saying in December 2022 that the country was “not in a state of calamity anymore, technically speaking.”

The declaration of state of calamity allows the continued implementation of measures to combat the ongoing pandemic.

More than 79.1 million individuals were fully immunized against COVID-19, latest data from the DOH showed. However, only 24.1 million people received boosters. — Gaea Katreena Cabico