Pregnant women now part of jab priority group

MANILA, Philippines — Pregnant women are now part of the priority group for vaccination against COVID-19, the Department of Health (DOH) announced yesterday as it opted to expand the immunization coverage upon the recommendation of experts.

“We will be revising our existing guidelines for pregnant women based on these recommendations and to indicate that they are now part of Expanded A3,” the DOH said in a statement, referring to the group with comorbidities prioritized for inoculation.

It noted that based on the recommendations of experts, COVID-19 vaccines are generally safe for pregnant women and that getting vaccinated against the disease is “actively recommended during the 2nd or 3rd trimester.”

The DOH said high-risk pregnant women in their 1st trimester may also be vaccinated provided that the benefits and risks have been fully explained and after securing a medical clearance from their doctor.

It added that most of the COVID-19 vaccines authorized in the country are safe for pregnant and breastfeeding women. At this time, only Gamaleya Institute’s Sputnik V is not allowed to be given to pregnant women.

Gamaleya is still applying for emergency use authorization (EUA) in the Philippines for its one-shot jab vaccine, Sputnik Light.

And, in case its deliveries to the country will be delayed further, those who received the Russian vaccine as first dose may get AstraZeneca as their second jab, said National Task Force (NTF) against COVID-19 policy chief implementer Carlito Galvez Jr. yesterday. The Philippines is set to receive 15,000 component II doses today.

“It has been talked about that a memorandum… just in case the component II will not arrive and the EUA for Sputnik Light is not yet approved, what will happen is, if the 42 (days) have lapsed already, AstraZeneca can be given as second dose after 42 days,” he told reporters.

This measure, he pointed out, has been approved by the Vaccine Expert Panel and the executive committee of the Department of Health.

Gamaleya’s Sputnik V Light is a one-shot dose like that of Johnson & Johnson’s, and has an efficacy rate of 79.4 percent on the 28th day, according to real world data.

“It can sustain the efficacy in few months like J&J and now they’re applying for an EUA from the Food and Drug Administration and our vaccine experts are studying it,” Galvez said.

The Philippines has so far received a total of 350,000 doses of both component I and II of the Sputnik V vaccine.

The government is eyeing to vaccinate about four million people before the two-week enhanced community quarantine lapses on Aug. 20 using its “focus and expand” strategy.

A total of 22 million doses of various COVID-19 vaccines are expected to arrive this month, including Pfizer’s 813,150 doses last Wednesday and the two million Sinovac doses yesterday.

Of the Pfizer supply, about 100,000 were delivered to Cebu and more than 100,00 in Davao. The remaining doses, according to Galvez, would be distributed to areas including Calabarzon, Central Luzon, parts of Ilocos and other areas of Visayas like Iloilo.

“We’ve been seeing that the surge now is hitting the different areas. Areas under alert level four will be given much-needed vaccines like Pfizer,” he said.

The deliveries on Thursday have brought a total of 39.5 million doses that the country has received since February.

World Health Organization (WHO) country representative Rabindra Abeyasinghe called on local government units to prioritize the vaccination of the elderly, saying this would lead to the protection of children and the economy.

“What can be achieved by prioritizing the elderly is that we will not need the extensive lockdown and not risk economic downturn. If we can vaccinate the elderly, they are also contributing to protecting their children and grandchildren,” Abeyasinghe said during a town hall meeting yesterday.

Metro Manila LGUs reported having vaccinated a combined total of about 230,000 vaccinations last Wednesday. The government’s target is 250,000 doses daily.

Galvez said that while the government would be prioritizing persons with comorbidities and senior citizens, he is allowing the LGUs to be flexible on giving vaccination slots to the A4 (economic frontliners) and A5 (indigent) sector.

“Our priority is still those with comorbidities and the elderly (A2) but considering that we are racing against time, it is recommended by LGUs to be flexible on the sectors. As much as possible, we need to follow priority but if the circumstances require that we vaccinate everyone wanting to get vaccinated, we may do so provided that they are from A3 to A5,” he added.

Meanwhile, the DOH yesterday criticized Dr. Romeo Quijano for allegedly spreading false information about the vaccines. Quijano reportedly issued a video claiming that COVID-19 vaccines are unsafe.

“It is especially irresponsible as the country continues to face the threat of the more infectious Delta variant,” the DOH said.

It stressed that there are pieces of evidence globally that COVID-19 vaccines have led to significant reduction in hospitalizations and deaths among vaccinated individuals.

Despite the increases in COVID-19 cases, it noted that countries reporting high number of cases have not recorded growth in hospitalizations and deaths.

The DOH also criticized some media outlets that allowed some professionals to use their platforms to spread baseless information that could discourage Filipinos from getting vaccinated. – Neil Jayson Servallos, Rudy Santos