Article by Arabella Balderama

The Department of Health (DOH) had been procuring additional supplies of bivalent vaccines against COVID-19 after acquiring the 390,000 doses donated by Lithuania on Saturday, June 6.

On Tuesday, Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa stated that the vaccines were already distributed to health centers in various local government units, with the main bulk catering to Metro Manila.

However, he also said that the vaccines’ current availability would not be adequate to accommodate all Filipinos.

“Kulang na kulang po itong 390,000, so what we need to do is to prioritize who needs it first. One, the elderly. Second, those with comorbidity, and third, healthcare workers. Since nag-wane na ‘yung immunity nila, we need to protect them all,” Herbosa stressed at a Palace press briefing.

“We are negotiating to acquire more. There are more that want to donate. There are probably some procurement we need to do,” the Health Secretary added.

Herbosa also cited some “snags” that slowed the procurement, such as the end period of COVID-19’s state of calamity. This issue led to the DOH reverting to the usual process of securing vaccines, which takes longer because emergency procurement cannot be made anymore.

According to Herbosa, the purchase of bivalent vaccinations will be similar to the acquisition of monovalent (standard) COVID-19 vaccines during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, but not as easy as ordering “off the shelf” because bivalent vaccines have a short shelf life.

Bivalent boosters are a form of vaccine that targets certain COVID-19 variations, such as the highly contagious Omicron, which are only manufactured after finalizing the request for procurement due to a shelf life of six months.

ICYMI: COVID-19 positivity rate in the Philippines

According to Guido David, an Octa Research fellow, Metro Manila’s weekly COVID-19 positivity rate dropped from 16.7 to 11.6 percent as of June 10, 2023.

Other provinces such as Palawan, Isabela, and Benguet also recorded a decrease, with rates dropping from 29.6 to 17.9 percent, 47.9 to 40.6 percent, and 22.7 to 16.1 percent, respectively.

Meanwhile, the highest upticks were observed in Aklan, Tarlac, and Oriental Mindoro, with figures increasing from 50 to 54.3 percent, 15.6 to 23.5 percent, and 43.2 to 48.3 percent, respectively.

Thumbnail from The Philippine Star