DOH exec: 2% of 109M Filipinos fully vaccinated vs. COVID-19 so far

Only two million of the Philippines' 109.48M population received both doses of COVID-19 vaccines, nearly three months after the national government started its vaccination program, Health Undersecretary and treatment czar Leopoldo Vega said Sunday.

Vega disclosed the latest figure when he was pressed to give updates on the government's inoculation program.

"This will take a long time because we know that as of now, we have only fully vaccinated around 2% of our population. That's far from our target before the end of the year on vaccinating 50% to 70% of [the population]," Vega told Dobol B TV in a mix of Tagalog and English.

To hit the target, 500,000 people should get vaccinated daily, Vega added.

However, Vega pointed out that inadequate supply of vaccines is dragging on the vaccination process. 

Earlier, vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. apologized for delays in the delivery of vaccines to some local government units.

Around 10 million doses of vaccines against COVID-19 will be delivered in June and 11 million more will arrive in July, Galvez added. 

At the onset of 2020, Philippine population stood at 109.48 million, and was projected to hit 110.88 by end of 2021, based on government data.

On the other hand, Vega pointed out that transportation and temperature concerns are among factors contributing to the delayed delivery of vaccines in some provinces.

He advised that AstraZeneca, Sinovac and other vaccine brands that are not sensitive to storage temperatures should be brought to far-flung areas in the country. —LBG/KG, GMA News