Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr., National Task Force (NTF) Against Covid-19 chief implementer and vaccine czar, assured that Western Visayas will be considered a priority region for COVID-19 vaccines, Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said Monday, May 24.
Galvez, Health Secretary Francisco Duque, and Local Government Secretary Eduardo Año joined a NTF-National Inter-Agency Task Force (NIATF) meeting with Western Visayas local chief executives via Zoom Monday.
Lacson said while the government priority for COVID-19 vaccination is the National Capital Region Plus, Galvez at the meeting “assured not equal distribution but they will consider Region 6 also as a priority region because of the (increase in) cases, especially what is happening now in Iloilo City.”
“With that statement maybe we can expect more doses to come to Negros on a regular basis…but they said it will depend on the available vaccines that the country has,” Lacson added.
Lacson said he expects faster anti-COVID vaccination in Negros Occidental with Duque’s statement that they can now vaccinate residents belonging to the A1 to A4 categories all together.
A1 to A4 covers health care workers, senior citizens, persons with comorbidities and frontline personnel in essential sectors, including uniformed personnel.
The Provincial Health Office has admitted a low acceptance of COVID-19 vaccines in the province that has resulted in slower utilization.
Negros Occidental has consumed more than 90 percent of its available Sinovac vaccines and 43 percent of its AstraZeneca vaccines, Lacson said. That is, however, because the AstraZeneca vaccines only arrived last week, he said.
Bacolod Mayor Evelio Leonardia, at the meeting, raised the need for more vaccine allocation for Bacolod, the issue of non-payment of PhilHealth obligations to hospitals, and the budget for contact tracers that is expected to end by June.
Leonardia pointed out that Bacolod has a population of 624,987 and its density is thicker than many other LGUs. This means the possibility of a big city like Bacolod becoming an epicenter is always there, he said.
“So we called on Secretary Galvez to ask for more vaccines. While Bacolod has been considered a priority, under the circumstances existing there is a need for even more volume and an acceleration of the deliveries of these vaccines from the national government,” the mayor said.
Leonarda also raised the issue of alleged non-payment of PhilHealth obligations to hospitals. He pointed out that if these hospitals cannot get their PhilHealth payments it could lead to demoralization.
“Our hospitals could become dysfunctional, as well as the affected doctors and nurses who are all vital components of our health system. We cannot allow this to happen,” he stressed.
“We appeal that the national government should give this its highest priority attention to pay what is due to the hospitals in Bacolod,” he added.
Leonardia also presented the matter of contact tracers with Año because it is expected that, by the end of June, the budget for them may be terminated.
“Fortunately, Secretary Año explained that, while under the Bayahinan II the expiry date may come soon, he promised to find ways and means so that the contact tracing units given to local government units may continue to be in place beyond June 30,” the mayor said.*