A delay in COVID-19 vaccine deliveries to the Philippines has forced some cities in the capital region to close vaccination sites, complicating Manila's efforts to ramp up its immunization drive.
Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque on Thursday (Jun 10) appealed for understanding, while assuring the public "we will have more supply in the coming months and everyone will be vaccinated".
Only 4.5 million of the 7 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines that were scheduled to arrive in May were delivered, Carlito Galvez, head of the government's vaccine procurement program, told DZMM radio on Wednesday.
The delay came just as the government opened up vaccinations to around 35 million people working outside their homes, to curb COVID-19 transmission and open up the economy.
Joy Belmonte, mayor of Quezon City, said that some vaccination sites in her city were being forced to close because of "erratic" supplies.
"If we are on full force, we can activate 15 sites already, but given the supply, we are activating only eight vaccine sites," Belmonte told CNN Philippines.
Quezon City is the Philippines' most populous city, with 2.9 million residents, and accounts for 8 per cent of the country's total 1.28 million COVID-19 infections.
In Marikina City, 18,000 people were awaiting the arrival of more vaccines, its mayor Marcelino Teodoro told CNN Philippines.
"The problem is no longer vaccine hesitancy (but) the steady supply of vaccines," Teodoro said.
A shipment of 2.28 million Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines secured via COVAX was set to arrive in the country on Thursday, but they will be given to senior citizens, people with existing health conditions and the poor.
--- Reuters, Manila
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