More than 3 million J&J doses to arrive in the PHL this month further boosting vaccine drive

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Senior citizens to be prioritized for single-dose J&J jab

(File photo) Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccines are seen on a table on May 7, 2021 in Los Angeles, California, at a vaccination clinic setup by Los Angeles Football Club, partnering with the LA county Department of Public Health and USC Pharmacy, where those vaccinated were due to receive a 20% discount on merchandise at the LAFC team store. – (Photo by Frederic J. BROWN / AFP)

 

(Eagle News) — More than 3 million doses of the single-dose Johnson and Johnson vaccine from the COVAX Facility would be delivered to the country by July 19, further boosting the vaccine rollout.

Because J&J vaccines only require a single for full vaccination, this means faster period for more Filipinos to be fully vaccinated.

Health Undersecretary Myrna Cabotaje, the chair of the National Vaccination Operations Center, said the A2 group or the senior citizens would be prioritized for the J&J vaccines.

The senior citizens are the most vulnerable sector since most COVID-19 deaths come from the elderly.

-Some LGUs doing house-to-house vaccination for elderly-

Cabotaje said that other local governments are already doing house-house vaccination for the senior citizens.

The Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) has also made vaccine registration easier for the elderly.

“Nagha-house to house na po iyong ibang mga local government units; iyong iba pa nga po ay nagbabakuna din sa mga bedridden sa kani-kanilang mga bahay,” Cabotaje said in a Laging Handa briefing on Monday, July 12.

“Tapos together with DILG ipinapamadali natin, we are making the registration easier through the barangay officials para hindi mahirapan iyong ating mga senior citizen na magpa-register,” she said on Monday, July 12.

The J&J vaccines would be given to the A2 sector (the elderly) and to the A3 sector or those with comorbidities.  Cabotaje said that this was the directive from vaccine czar and chief implementer of the National Task Force against COVID-19 Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr.

So far, only 30 percent of the senior citizens have been vaccinated.

At least 100,000 doses of the J&J vaccines would be allocated per region, she said.

“Tapos iyong diperensiya dadagdagan natin based on the number of still to be vaccinated A2 and A3,” she said.

“One dose lang ito, so, very convenient sa ating mga senior citizen at iyong mga iba nating kababayan na nasa mga malalayong lugar,” Cabotaje said.

The J&J vaccine doses were donated by the US government to the COVAX Facility of the World Health Organization (WHO).

The following is the allocation of the expected over 3 million J&J doses per region based on a table shown during a Malacanang press briefing:

The allocation per region of the one-dose Johnson and Johnson vaccines that are expected to arrive in the country on July 19 from the COVAX Facility, Over 3 million doses of the vaccines will be delivered on that day. (Based on a table during a Malacanang press briefing on Monday, July 12, 2021

Region 3 (383,077 doses), followed by Region 4-A (380,965 doses) would receive the highest allocation of the J&J doses based on this table.  Next is Region 6 (289,885 doses), Region 1 (206,583 doses), Region 7 (203,838 doses) and Region 5 (203,810 doses)

 

(Eagle News Service)