DOH: Over 1M individuals fully vaccinated vs COVID-19

The Philippines has fully vaccinated over 1 million individuals against COVID-19 as of May 25, nearly three months since the launch of its inoculation campaign, the Department of Health (DOH) said Wednesday.

Health Undersecretary Myrna Cabotaje said 4,495,375 doses have been administered in 1,381 active vaccination sites nationwide. The country’s seven-day moving average of daily vaccinated individuals also reached 170,000.

A total of 1,029,061 people have received two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine, 581,797 of whom are health workers, 195,952 are senior citizens, 250,777 are persons with comorbidities, and 535 are essential workers.

The number of people who have gotten their first shot also increased to 3,466,314, more than 1.3 million of whom are health workers, 1.2 million are senior citizens, 941,091 are persons with comorbidities, and 10,695 are essential workers.

Cabotaje said 85% of health workers nationwide and 97% of medical frontliners in Metro Manila have received a COVID-19 jab, while only 12% of senior citizens have been vaccinated so far.

She underscored the need to convince more people belonging to priority groups to get vaccinated.

The government aims to vaccinate 58 million people in COVID-19 hotspots by November this year and administer up to 500,000 doses daily. 

Earlier on Wednesday, Fr. Nicanor Austriaco of the OCTA Research group said 200,000 to 300,000 doses must be administered daily in Metro Manila, Metro Cebu, Metro Davao, Bulacan, Cavite, Pampanga, Laguna, Batangas, and Rizal starting June.

“If the target is to achieve herd immunity in the ‘NCR + 8’ before Christmas, we should be vaccinating between 200,000 to 300,000 doses per day for the six-month period beginning on June 1st,” he said in an online forum.

“At a rate of 250,000 doses per day, the 'NCR + 8' will achieve containment of COVID-19 some time in October,” he added.

The Philippines has logged 1,188,672 COVID-19 cases with 1,120,452 recoveries and 20,019 deaths as of Tuesday afternoon. — RSJ, GMA News