Robredo: Herd immunity target vs. COVID-19 should be earlier than 2023

Vice President Leni Robredo on Wednesday called on the government to target herd immunity from COVID-19 at an earlier time than 2023, saying the current economic situation calls for it.

"Nagsabi 'yong DOH (Department of Health) sa atin, recently lang, parang 2023 pa. Pero sa akin kasi, dapat ‘yong goal natin better than 2023," Robredo said in a video message.

"Nakakapag-alala ‘yon kasi as of now, ang daming naghihirap na mga Pilipino, ang dami nang nawalan ng trabaho. So dapat 'yung goal natin, the faster na mabakunahan ang mas maraming tao."

It was Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire who said that herd immunity may only be reached by 2023. Herd immunity refers to a situation where enough people in a population have immunity to an infection after getting a vaccine, effectively stopping the disease from spreading.

The country's economic growth at the end of 2020 was at -9.5% — the largest drop since 1946 or less than a year after World War II ended.

Likewise, at least 3.8 million Filipinos are unemployed or without a source of livelihood based on the Philippine Statistics Authority’s October 2020 Labor Force Survey.

In order to achieve herd immunity at the earliest possible time, Robredo said the government and various sectors should work together.

"'Yung akin sigurong pakiusap: patulung-tulungan natin. Una, na mapabilis 'yung rollout ng vaccine. Pangalawa, na pagtulungan nating i-boost 'yung confidence ng mga kababayan natin na magtiwala sila sa safety ng bakuna," she said.

"Pangatlo, na ma-achieve na kaagad natin ‘yong herd immunity para back to normal na tayong lahat," she added.

Last month, Vergeire said that the government’s target is to vaccinate the most vulnerable first before looking at herd immunity due to limited supply of COVID-19 vaccines.

The first batch of t least 117,000 doses Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine under the COVAX facility is expected to arrive in the country within the month.

Those first in line to get these vaccines are those workers in health facilities, specifically those in COVID-19 referral hospitals in Metro Manila, as well as cities of Cebu and Davao, which are equipped to store Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines that require storage temperatures of -70°C to -80°C.

The arrival date of the first batch of COVID-19 vaccines from COVAX facility, however, is still unclear.

Two COVID-19 vaccines have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for emergency use authorization (EUA) so far.

The FDA found that the COVID-19 vaccine by Pfizer-BioNTech will reach its 92% to 95% efficacy rate after two doses administered 21 days apart.

On the other hand, the FDA said that AstraZeneca has a 70% efficacy rate after the first dose, a rate that increases after the second dose is administered four to 12 weeks after.

The Philippine government has already inked a 17-million COVID-19 vaccine doses supply deal with AstraZeneca, funded by the private sector for donation to the government.

Vaccine czar Carlito Galvez, Jr. earlier said that the government is eyeing to vaccinate 70 million Filipinos against COVID-19 this year in a best-case scenario and that the vaccine rollout is expected to start in March. —KBK, GMA News