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Amid tight supply, Galvez bares priority areas for COVID-19 vaccines

Given an expected falloff in the deliveries of COVAX vaccines due to the COVID-19 crisis in India, Secretary Carlito Galvez has recommended a list of areas across the country that would be prioritized to receive the doses.

Speaking at Monday night's Cabinet briefing, Galvez, the vaccine czar explained the areas to be prioritized were those localities that were seeing a significant number of infections, and which had economic and social importance.

According to Galvez's presentation, the following are priority areas for COVID-19 inoculation:

Luzon

  •     Metro Manila cities
  •     Calabarzon
  •     Central Luzon
  •     Baguio City
  •     Cordillera Administrative Region
  •     Cagayan Valley

Visayas

  •     Cebu City
  •     Bacolod City
  •     Iloilo City
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  •     Central Visayas
  •     Western Visayas
  •     Eastern Visayas

Mindanao

  •     Davao City
  •     Cagayan de Oro City
  •     Zamboanga City
  •     General Santos City
  •     Iligan City
  •     Davao Region
  •     Zamboanga Peninsula
  •     Northern Mindanao

Galvez said funneling the vaccines to these areas would ease the strain on the vaccine supply as heard immunity could be achieved in these specific areas by vaccinating 50 to 60 million locals, rather than the over 80 million that would have to be vaccinated if herd immunity of the total Philippine population was the goal.

"Nung first ano natin, noong 2020, itong mga lugar pong ito ang tinamaan ng malalakas. So titingnan po natin, instead na mag-concentrate tayo sa 110 [million total Philippine population] we only need to concentrate on 83 million population," Galvez explained.

"And kung makuha po natin ang 70 percent ng population o herd immunity ng mga areas na ito, malakas po ang chances natin na ma-recover natin ang economy." —DVM, GMA News