Local officials should refrain from announcing the Covid-19 vaccine brand that would be administered to their constituents to prevent overcrowding in jab sites similar to an incident in Parañaque City, an official from the Department of Health said Wednesday.

In a televised briefing, Health Undersecretary Myrna Cabotaje noted that residents of Parañaque recently flocked a vaccination site in the city with hopes of getting their preferred anti-coronavirus shots from Pfizer-BioNTech.

“When the vaccination using Pfizer shots were announced, everybody wanted to queue for Pfizer,” she said.

“Maybe one of the strategies that can be made is to refrain from announcing what vaccine brand will be given. So, if the public wants to get vaccinated, they will go to a facility or the vaccination site and receive whatever is available,” said Cabotaje, who leads the national vaccination operations center.

Government officials have previously expressed concern over Monday’s vaccine rollout in a mall in Parañaque City since it may be a Covid-19 “super-spreader” event.

Hundreds of eager residents flocked to the area after the local government unit announced that “interested fellows” may come to the jab site to receive Pfizer shots.

However, many of them left the place disappointed since only those who pre-registered online were accommodated.

The overcrowding in Parañaque mall was attributed to the preference of Filipinos to get Western-made vaccines.

Cabotaje emphasized that all vaccine brands approved by local regulators for emergency use were deemed safe and effective in preventing Covid-19.

She said the public should not be choosy on the Covid-19 jabs they would opt to take, adding that the vaccine developed by China’s Sinovac was also potent and effective.

“Our general principle is everyone should get whatever vaccine is available,” Cabotaje said.

The health official also reminded the public that only those who registered online for vaccination would be accommodated in jab sites and that they should stick to the schedule given to them.

Earlier this week, President Rodrigo Duterte ordered vaccine czar Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. to distribute Covid-19 jabs “with a blind eye for brand.”

His reminder came two weeks after he received his favored vaccine brand from China even if it has yet to receive an emergency use authorization from local regulators.

On 3 May, he received his first dose of Sinopharm’s Covid-19 vaccine, which was donated by the Chinese government to the Philippines.

The President later apologized to the public for taking the jab after he drew criticism from medical groups as he asked the Chinese government to withdraw the 1,000 doses of Sinopharm’s vaccine it had donated to the country.

The Palace has defended the President for his vaccination, saying he got to choose which Covid-19 brand to receive simply because of his position as chief executive.

Malacañang previously said only medical workers would get to choose their Covid-19 vaccine under the government’s immunization program.

Over 2.28 million Filipinos received their first doses of vaccines as of May 16. Of these, 719,602 Filipinos were fully vaccinated or got their two doses.

So far, Covid-19 vaccines developed by Pfizer-BioNTech, AstraZeneca, Sinovac, Gamaleya, Johnson & Johnson, and Bharat Biotech have been approved for emergency use in the Philippines. (Tribune)