NextGen Day

The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) stated it would wait for the Department of Health’s (DOH) opinion on concerns that some coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) vaccines distributed to local government units had spoiled (LGUs).

DILG spokesperson, Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya, said in a Laging Handa briefing on Friday that the DOH and the National Vaccines Operation Center (NVOC) are now evaluating the LGUs’ statements to see if they may be held accountable.

“So aantayin po namin yung (we’re waiting for) the DOH report and recommendation because ang DOH po kasi ang nagbigay ng bakuna sa kanila (LGUs) at ang DOH ang nagsu-supervise ng ating immunization program sa mga LGUs (since the DOH distributes the vaccinations to them and the DOH is the one supervis

Dr. Ted Herbosa, medical consultant to the National Task Force Against Covid-19, said some LGUs will have to explain the spoiling of “a few hundred doses” of AstraZeneca vaccine that expired on November 30.

The doses in question were part of a 1.5 million AstraZeneca vaccine donation to the Philippines, which arrived in late October.

On November 30, 1,492 vials or 14,920 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines expired in Negros Occidental, making it one of the provinces to record a vaccine spoiling occurrence.

Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz II stated they had submitted a report to the Department of Health (DOH)-Western Visayas, which will also refer the case to the national Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID).

Meanwhile, Malaya reported that the three-day “Bayanihan, Bakunahan” coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) vaccination campaign was a success, with more individuals showing up at vaccination centers to get their shots.

“Ikanatutuwa namin yung naging (we are overjoyed at the) triumph ng ating ‘Bayanihan, Bakunahan’ which occurred in the last three days,” said the author. “Napakaganda ng naging accomplishment ng ating local government units (LGUs)” (Our LGUs have done a great job),” Malaya stated.

A total of 8,014,751 vaccine doses had been provided as of 6 a.m. Friday — 2,709,344 doses on Monday, 2,475,479 doses on Tuesday, and 2,829,928 doses on Wednesday. The enormous immunization campaign will now last until Friday.

The government would now have to cope with compulsory data encoding issues because of the enormous turnout of those taking the Covid-19 shots, Malaya added, citing the success of the “National Vaccination Days.”

“Ganun po kadami (vaccinees) ang kailangan i-encode ng ating mga LGUs,” says the author (local government units). So marami rami na ine-encode (vaccinees) ngayon and nagpapasalamat po ang DILG sa tulong ng ating mga volunteers galing sa mga SK (Sangguniang Kabataan), yung government internship ng DOLE (Department of Labor and Employment), at iba pa pong mga tao na nag-volunt So they’re encoding a lot right now, and the DILG appreciates the participation of volunteers from the SK, the DOLE internship program, and other volunteers who assisted the LGUs in encoding the data),” Malaya said.

Meanwhile, Malaya has urged all parties involved to provide adequate resources and staff to address the encoder shortage and upload the data of more vaccine recipients into the Vaxcert (vaccine certification) site and VaxCert.ph digital certification.

According to the Department of Health, the Philippines is now placed fourth among countries with the highest number of Covid-19 vaccines delivered in a single day, having given out 2.7 million immunizations on November 29.

China has 22 million doses, India has 10 million, the United States has 3.48 million doses, and Brazil has 2.6 million doses.

There are currently no political rallies permitted.

In the meantime, the DILG reminded all political parties, groups, and supporters that political rallies are still illegal. Special meetings shall be permitted only with the permission of the local government unit (LGU) in question, and only if all minimum public health standards (MPHS) are followed.

“Ang DILG pinapaalala sa lahat ng mga kandidato at political parties na bawal po ang mga political rallies sa panahon ng pandemya,” she said. Although kung ito po naman ay special gatherings gaya nang magbibigay ng tulong sa ating mga kababayan, kailangan pong sundin po yung mga IATF regulations gaya ng operational capacity at minimum public health standards, and of course, yung approval ng mga LGUs na may sakop doon sa lugar na yun ( We must wait for the campaign period to legally begin before holding political rallies because it is not yet campaign season. Although, if these are special gatherings such as aid distribution, we must adhere to IATF laws, particularly in terms of operating capacity and minimum health standards, as well as the approval of the LGUs involved),” Malaya emphasized.

The official campaign season for national seats begins on February 8, 2022, and for local elective positions, including Members of the House of Representatives, on March 25, 2022, according to the Commission on Elections.

Christmas celebrations

Meanwhile, according to Malaya, Christmas parties and other such gatherings must adhere to an area’s operational capability based on its alert level.

After Apayao was dropped from Alert Level 3 on Friday, the entire country is now on Alert Level 2, the second most relaxed level of the five-tier system.

Under Alert Level 2, gatherings are permitted up to 50% of the venue’s capacity, plus an additional 10% if the facility has a safety seal certification.

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