Daily vaccination target of 500,000 could be reached by August—Duque

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III expressed hope Friday that the Philippines will reach its daily vaccination target of 500,000 by August.

In a press conference after the arrival of AstraZeneca vaccines, Duque said that reaching the target will allow the country to achieve herd immunity in 130 days.

“I think, hopefully by next month, we should be able to reach it (target daily vaccination),” he said when asked when the country will reach the target.

According to him, the Philippines recorded on Thursday its highest daily vaccination of around 392,000. On Tuesday, July 13, the country administered 375,059 doses of COVID-19 vaccine.

The National Task Force (NTF) Against COVID -19 has welcomed the recent survey results showing that more people are willing to get vaccinated as it expects the inoculation rate to climb up.

NTF chief implementer Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. pointed out that the increase in vaccine confidence is crucial since more supply of doses will arrive in the next few months.

“This is very important as we have secured and will continue to get more vaccine supply in the next few months including donations through COVAX and foreign governments,” Galvez said.

NTF deputy chief implementer Secretary Vince Dizon projected that the increased vaccine confidence will improve the vaccination rates of the country.

“Almost 14 million Filipinos have received at least one dose of the COVID -19 vaccine, with vaccinations reaching a high 375,000 per day, and this reflects what the survey shows, that vaccine confidence is on the rise in the Philippines,” he said.—AOL, GMA News