Celebrities and personalities are concerned with the pace of the vaccination rollout in the Philippines, knowing that the donated vaccine, Astra Zeneca is expiring next month.
On Wednesday, May 12, the Department of Health announced that 514,000 Filipinos already got inoculated for COVID-19, with 6.4 million of the 7.76 million doses distributed across the country.
Vaccine czar Carlito Galvez on numerous occasions, boasted that the Philippines is among the Southeast Asian countries leading in the vaccine rollout.
However, the average vaccination per day is alarming.
Former Health adviser Dr. Tony Leachon revealed that the Philippines has 40-60 thousand vaccination per day.
With the vaccine Astra Zeneca expiring in June, there is a huge possibility that its stocks would go to waste.
We are still at 40-60k vaccination per day. At this rate we can never finish the ASTRA ZENECA 1.5M stocks that will expire in June.
LGUs still loaded w sinovac stocks. We have not yet finished the 3M doses of Sinovac.
Were just half way through them. Sayang… super sayang!
— Tony Leachon MD (@DrTonyLeachon) May 11, 2021
Musician-singer Kean Cipriano also shared Leachon’s tweet suggesting that the Government must pick up the pace in the vaccination rollout.
👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻 https://t.co/kIKyqNy11f
— Kean Cipriano (@keancipriano) May 12, 2021
ABS-CBN broadcast journalist Karen Davila also raised this concern. She suggested that the Administration should have a sense of urgency.
Davila stressed that the Government should open the vaccination to everyone to avoid it from getting wasted.
Alarming. We need a more urgent approach to vaccination. Perhaps just open vaccination to everyone willing so as not to waste anything? Stronger info campaign on the benefits of vaccination? Or what about going house to house in areas where transmission is high? @DrTonyLeachon https://t.co/pjhl3n6wrw
— Karen Davila (@iamkarendavila) May 11, 2021
Leachon also agreed with Davila with a suggestion as well—distribute the expiring vaccines to the private sector and let them lead the vaccination rollout.
The govt should just give the stocks that will expire in June to the competent private sector then let them do the vaccination.
They can just give back what they got when their stocks arrive in June.
The govt should open the vaccines to A4 Category already . @iamkarendavila https://t.co/LwTTwrzkie
— Tony Leachon MD (@DrTonyLeachon) May 11, 2021
Comedienne Marietta Subong also noted that with the rate of vaccination, more families such as herself are still waiting to get vaccinated. And if Astra Zeneca expires next month without being used until its last supply, then a big chance that it would go to waste.
Sayang pag nagkataon!!! ako at pamilya ko ay naghihintay hindi ako gagamit ng impluwensya dahil alam ko ang prayoridad kung sino dapat ang unahin, pero sana wag masayang God please 🙏🏼 kahit pa PM is the key naku po Willing to wait nalang kami hahahahaa https://t.co/eexAEJgB2b
— marietta subong (@pokwang27) May 12, 2021
DJ Slick Rick also urged the Government to hasten the vaccine rollout, stressing that everyone should now be vaccinated.
Let's go! Pick up the pace! Open it up! https://t.co/2rbh7A4XXm
— DJ Slick Rick (@_slickrick) May 12, 2021
A twitter personality, Ash Presto highlighted the effect of the slow vaccine rollout in the Philippines.
She stressed that the country’s pace could result in the “very limited yet very much-needed vaccine stocks” unusable.
Slow vaccine rollout in the Philippines means we might not be able to use our very limited yet very much-needed vaccine stocks before they expire.
As we Filipinos can only sum up in one word in our language: SAYANG! https://t.co/yBQftvqOJ5
— Ash Presto 💜 (@sosyolohija) May 12, 2021
Graphic designer Vincent Quilop also supported the suggestion of Leachon that the government should open the vaccination for everyone. He pointed that many Filipinos are eager to get vaccinated, but not all are part of the priority list.
OPEN THE VACCINATION FOR EVERYONE!!! Ang dami gustong magpa-vaccinate sadyang wala lang sa priority population. https://t.co/Bn1oN1cEg2
— Vincent (@VinQuilop) May 12, 2021
Meanwhile, Pia Magalona reiterated Vice President Leni Robredo’s call for the Government to focus its attention on the COVID-19 pandemic rather than other things such as the Manila Bay getting its second batch of dolomite sand.
“Nakikita natin, pati iyong dolomite mayroon na namang 2nd batch, kung anu-ano ang inaasikaso. Hangga’t hindi natin ito tinututukan nang maayos, humahaba lang nang humahaba eh. Iyong economy natin nagsu-suffer.”
Correct!! Focus on the vaccines PLS. https://t.co/CCrFu6RyCl
— Pia Magalona ⁷ (@piamagalona) May 12, 2021
