Population protection in NCR by November achievable —Abalos

Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) chairperson Benhur Abalos on Wednesday expressed confidence that population protection from COVID-19 will be achieved in the National Capital Region (NCR) by November.

Interviewed on ANC, Abalos said the national government is expecting to have 15 million more doses of COVID-19 vaccine by August.

"Now we're doing 200,000 jabs a day and it's even increasing with the help of the private sector," Abalos said.

"We're very confident, at least for one dose, we could really achieve this number."

The Department of Health defines population protection as reducing the number of deaths and hospitalized patients through vaccination.

The government is eyeing to achieve population protection against COVID-19 in NCR Plus by November 27. In Metro Manila, around 6 to 8 million people should be inoculated to reach the target.

According to Abalos, vaccination hesitancy remains an issue in the government's inoculation program. He said local government units are coming up with creative ways to promote vaccination.

On Sunday, vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. said more than 8 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in the country.

A total of 8,050,711 jabs were administered nationwide as of June 18, according to data from the National Vaccination Operations Center (NVOC).

Of this number, 5,953,810 jabs were for the first dose, while 2,096,901 were for the second dose.

“There’s no letup in our vaccination campaign,” said Galvez, who is also the National Task Force (NTF) Against COVID-19 chief implementer.

“All sectors of society are working together so that we can start to move on from this pandemic, bring back a greater sense to our lives, and further open up our economy,” he added. —KBK, GMA News