Over 8 million COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in Philippines —Galvez

Vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. on Sunday said more than eight million doses of COVID-19 vaccines 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. 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,” said Galvez who is also the National Task Force (NTF) Against COVID-19 chief implementer.

Highest daily vaccination

On June 15, the number of vaccinations given for that day reached 322,929, the highest daily rate, Galvez said.

More than one million jabs were given weekly for two consecutive weeks this June, he added.

From June 12 to 18 alone, a total of 1,252,234 doses were given.

The NTF said there are now 3,991 vaccination sites in the country.

Since March, the start of the vaccination program, a total of 11,731,640 vaccine doses have been deployed nationwide by NVOC.

“We will sustain our momentum, as we expect a steady supply of vaccines in the coming weeks and months,” Galvez said.

Priority groups

The NTF said 94.24% or 1,053,373 healthcare workers belonging to the A1 priority group already received COVID-19 vaccines.

For the A2 priority group (senior citizens), a total of 1,939,599 received their first dose, while 536,476 have completed two doses.

For the A3 priority group (persons with comorbidities), 2,005,206 received their first jab while 498,925 have been fully vaccinated with two doses.

As for the A4 priority group (economic frontliners), 452,600 were given their first dose while 8,127 have completed both doses.

Meanwhile, for the A5 priority group (indigents), 23,826 have received their first dose. 

Galvez recognized the efforts of local government units and the private sector in helping ensure the vaccination of Filipinos.

“Local government units and the private sector are playing a key role in this effort, as they ramp up the inoculation of their citizens and employees, respectively. They are really doing an amazing job and we would like to laud them for their hard work,” he said.

Supply of vaccines

The NTF said a total of 14,205,870 doses bought by the government and private sector and donated by foreign governments have been delivered.

These include Sinovac, Sputnik, Pfizer, and AstraZeneca vaccines.

More vaccines are expected to be delivered this month, such as 1.5 million doses of Sinovac vaccines on June 24, and 250,000 doses of Moderna vaccines on June 27.

Also expected within the month of June are shipments of more than 2 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccines from COVAX facility, and 150,000 doses of Sputnik V.

Vaccine hesitancy, brand preference

Galvez said vaccine hesitancy is being addressed as shown by the upward trend in the number of vaccinations.

"We’re now seeing an upward trajectory in the vaccination throughout across all priority groups. This is a very good indication that vaccine hesitancy is being addressed and more Filipinos, especially our senior citizens, are now willing to get inoculated,” he said.

The vaccine czar also said more people have taken Sinovac vaccines.

“We are happy that the public uptake for Sinovac has also increased significantly. The steady supply of doses particularly of this brand, will enable us to fast track the inoculation of the A4 priority group, as well as provide much-needed vaccines to emerging hotspots across the country,” Galvez added.

The government has implemented a "brand agnostic" policy which prevents local authorities from disclosing the vaccine brand ahead of the day of the inoculation, following crowding in vaccination centers where the Pfizer-BioNTech shot was being administered.

A Social Weather Stations survey released in May also showed that over 63% of Filipinos trust COVID-19 vaccines made in the United States.

The government is eyeing to vaccinate 58 million people or 70% of the population in focus areas to achieve herd immunity by the end of the year. —KG, GMA News