PASIG CITY —National Task Force against COVID 19 Chief Implementer and vaccine czar Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr urged local government units to find creative ways of securing much-needed ancillary supplies to ensure the unhampered rollout of their respective vaccination programs.

According to Galvez, there is an ongoing ‘global shortage’ of syringes and needles used in administering COVID-19 vaccines, especially the 0.3ml variety, which is used specifically for Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines.

“Very acute and limited ang supply nito [0.3ml syringe] ngayon globally. Kaya noon pa man ay sinabihan na natin ang mga LGU na maghanda at bumili ng mga syringes,” Galvez in an online interview on Thursday, November 11.

National Vaccination Operations Center Chair and Department of Health (DOH) Undersecretary Myrna Cabotaje earlier said the DOH has procured 44 million 0.3ml syringes through UNICEF.

However, Cabotaje said the deliveries of these syringes have been delayed due to the shortage of supply in the global market.

She, however, said there are about 5.9 million syringes which are compatible with most vaccine brands and “are available in warehouses.”

“Sa amin [national government] po ang bakuna, ang administration ay sa LGU. Kaya dapat magkaroon sila ng creative ways on how to produce these ancillary supplies,” said Galvez.

The vaccine czar emphasized that local government units must always have adequate ancillary supplies needed for their vaccination drive such as syringes, cottons, and alcohol.

Galvez underscored that apart from securing these ancillary supplies, LGUs must also take the lead and employ various ‘techniques’ to encourage their constituents to get vaccinated, especially 4Ps beneficiaries.

“Sila ‘yung highly vulnerable at hindi kaya magkaroon ng sapat na pera na pambili ng gamot, kaya gusto natin mauna silang mabakunahan. Sabi ng Pangulo, we have to vaccinate the poorest of the poor kasi sila ang vulnerable sa sakit,” he said.

Steady supply of vaccines

Meanwhile, the vaccine czar remains optimistic that the steady arrival of COVID-19 vaccines will be complemented by a more aggressive vaccine rollout nationwide, which will allow the country to achieve and sustain a 1.5 million daily jab rate.

“Very steady ang supply natin. Meron tayong 52 million doses on stockpile, meaning ang mga ito ay ready gamitin for administration anytime,” he said.

As of November 11, the Philippines has received a total of 121,979,340 vaccine doses from various manufacturers.

Galvez said the country still expects roughly 46 million doses to be delivered this year. These supplies will be used for the vaccination rollout in the first quarter of 2022.

A three-day massive national vaccination campaign will be held on November 29 to December 1. It aims to inoculate five million individuals per day and eventually build the momentum of administering millions of vaccine doses daily.

“We are confident na kaya natin. Maraming nag-doubt na hindi natin kaya ang five million a day pero ganito rin dati noong 30,000 a day lamang ang ating nagagawa a day,” Galvez said.

“Maraming nagduda noong sinabi natin na kaya natin ang 300,000 a day hanggang nagawa natin up to 500,000, and then more than 1,000,000 jabs in Nov 4, 10 and 11. And hopefully 1 – 1.5 million jabs will become our daily trend, he added. END