DOH: Arrival of bivalent vaccines will be slightly delayed anew

The Department of Health (DOH) on Tuesday said the arrival of the bivalent COVID-19 vaccines will be slightly delayed anew.

The DOH issued the remark after it earlier said that 400,000 doses of bivalent COVID-19 vaccines are expected to arrive this week.

“As per the DOH - Bureau of International Health Cooperation (BIHC), there shall be a slight delay in the arrival of the bivalent vaccines as there are permits that are still needed to be coordinated,” the Health Department said in a statement.

“Rest assured that the DOH is exhausting all efforts to receive the vaccines by the end of the month. Further, the Department shall provide updates on the arrival of the vaccines,” it added.

The DOH also said the department memorandum has already been signed and is waiting for its release regarding the preparation and implementation of the roll-out of the bivalent vaccine.

Bivalent vaccines are second-generation jabs that target the Omicron variant.

Last January, DOH officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire said the first batch of donated bivalent vaccines was supposed to arrive by the end of March. This consists of 1,002,000 doses which the COVAX committed to the Philippines.

She, however, refuted reports that there were delays in the arrival of bivalent vaccines.

Meanwhile, the DOH official maintained that the lifting of COVID-19 as a public health emergency of international concern does not have any effect on the arrival of the vaccines.

Vergeire also said the Philippines may only declare an end to its state of public health emergency due to COVID-19 if infections and hospital utilization remain manageable. — Richa Noriega/RSJ, GMA Integrated News