DOH: Oxygen tank supply sufficient contrary to shortage reports

By JULIA MARI ORNEDO,GMA News, 7 May 2021

The Department of Health (DOH) on Friday insisted that the country’s supply of oxygen tanks amid the coronavirus pandemic was “sufficient” even as some hospitals and infirmaries reported a shortage of the item.

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said over 1,000 hospitals and more than 500 infirmaries participated in a DOH survey on oxygen tank supply.

Among the hospitals that submitted data, three or 0.25% reported experiencing an oxygen tank shortage at least once daily, 15 or 1% reported a shortage at least once weekly, while 63 or 5% faced a shortage at least once monthly.

The other 77.75% or 943 hospitals reported “no shortage in any time of the week or any day.”

Among the infirmaries, two or 0.37% reported a shortage of oxygen tanks at least once daily, 19 or 3.48% at least once weekly, 54 or 9.89% at least once monthly, and 364 or 66% reported never experiencing shortages at all.

Vergeire said the DOH has forwarded the survey findings to the Department of Trade and Industry, which is now coordinating with three big oxygen tank suppliers in Cebu, Calamba, and Taguig.

“Meron pong pag-uusap na on how we can generate more oxygen so that we can be ready and we can prepare our health system if in case, hopefully not, na magkaroon tayo ng mas mataas na pangangailangan para sa oxygen supply,” she said in a briefing.

(There are discussions on how we can generate more oxygen so that we can be ready and we can prepare our health system if in case, hopefully not, we have a high demand for oxygen supply.)

Earlier this month, vendors in Bambang, an area in Manila known for medical supplies and equipment, said that their supply of oxygen tanks was running low.

Vergeire said around 14,000 oxygen tanks, 5,300 of which are in Metro Manila, were consumed daily across the country.

She assured the public that the oxygen tank supply was “enough” and “sufficient” for the current number of COVID-19 cases.

“Based on our data, ito pong ating current supplies, kung madodoble per month ang ating mga kaso ay sufficient pa ang ating needs for oxygen but at the same time, ayaw pa rin pong magkaroon ng complacency ng ating gobyerno,” Vergeire said.

(Based on our data, our current supplies will still be sufficient for our oxygen needs even if our cases double per month. But at the same time, the government does not want to be complacent.)

The Philippines has logged 1,080,172 total infections with 63,170 active cases as of Thursday afternoon. — DVM, GMA News