Israel medical experts in town to observe vaccine rollout

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine government is hoping to learn from Israel medical experts who recently arrived to observe the country’s vaccine rollout, Malacañang said yesterday.

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque Jr. said the team of three Israeli doctors Avraham Ben Zaken, Adam Nicholas Segal and Dafna Segol that arrived last Sunday has made the rounds of the country’s vaccination and quarantine facilities.

According to Roque, Israel sent a three-member team from its health ministry for information exchange, owing to the strong bilateral relations between the Philippines and Israel.

“The Israeli team here is observing how we are actually implementing the vaccination program,” Roque said.

The experts will share technical expertise on vaccination, from handling sensitive shots to increasing public confidence in vaccines.

Israel’s vaccination rate is among the highest in the world and is among the first countries that eased health protocols after inoculating the majority of its population.

Vaccine handling

The Israeli team met with Philippine counterparts yesterday and shared their best practices in vaccine handling, including cold chain and logistics systems management.

The experts also advised their local counterparts to create centralized hubs for vaccine storage and proposed the creation of storage hubs for anti-COVID vaccines to be deployed in remote areas.

According to Segol, consultant of health care policy and innovation, the Israeli government uses a data-based approach when making decisions related to their vaccination program.

During the meeting, National Task Force chief implementer and vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. stressed the need to strictly follow the safe handling of vaccines.

Delay

Galvez confirmed that the delivery of 50,000 Sputnik V doses will be delayed after the Russian Direct Investment Fund sent a June 20 notice stating the jabs “will be deferred to a later date due to ongoing upgrades and latest developments on the vaccine.”

Despite the delay, he assured the public that the jab’s efficacy will not be compromised. “While this may be the case, we would like to emphasize that this unforeseen delay in the delivery will not in any way compromise the efficacy of the vaccines.

“The health technology assessment council (HTAC) recommends that persons aged 18 years and older may receive two vaccine doses at least 21 days apart,” Galvez said.

Malacañang likewise echoed the same assurance. “There is no problem. The EUA (emergency use authority) of Sputnik V will be amended because apparently, the efficacy is higher if the second dose is given after a longer interval,” Roque said.

Meanwhile, Vice President Leni Robredo expressed willingness to expand the “Vaccine Express” to areas outside Metro Manila with high cases of COVID-19.

“We are very much willing. Will ask our team to coordinate with yours,” Robredo tweeted in response to Cagayan de Oro City Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, who urged Robredo to set up drive-through vaccination sites for economic frontliners outside NCR.

The Office of the Vice President, in partnership with the city of Manila and the private sector, vaccinated more than 2,000 tricycle and pedicab drivers as well as delivery riders in the two-day COVID-19 vaccine express lane at the Cultural Center of the Philippines complex.

Deliveries

Cebu Pacific announced it has carried over 1.78 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to 15 provinces since March.

The domestic carrier said that in the past six days, 125,000 doses were delivered to Cebu, Cotabato, Dumaguete, Legazpi and Zamboanga and over 58,000 doses to Bacolod, Roxas, Tuguegarao and Cagayan de Oro.

It said that about 31 percent of Cebu Pacific line pilots and cabin crew have already been vaccinated under the A4 category. – Jose Rodel Clapano, Neil Jayson Servallos, Helen Flores, Rudy Santos