Duterte: Vaccination of general population vs. COVID-19 eyed in October

President Rodrigo Duterte said vaccination of the general public against COVID-19 may begin in October, with the poor as priority.

"I'd like the people to know that we are studying the possibility of vaccinating the general population this October, kung meron ng stable vaccine supply [provided there is stable vaccine supply]," Duterte said in a taped address aired Tuesday morning.

"Dapat nang unahin yung walang-wala sa mga far-flung area, unahin muna yung mga maihirap [The poor should be prioritized, especially those in far-flung areas)," he added.

Based on latest government data, 17 million Filipinos have already been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as of September 13.

The total number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered, on the other hand, has reached 39.1 million, according to presidential spokesperson Harry Roque.

A total of 395,704 vaccine doses were administered on Monday, he said.

Roque also said 6 million Metro Manila residents are already fully vaccinated, accounting for 61% of the target population in the region.

The government's COVID-19 vaccination started in March, and at least 76.3 million are needed to be fully vaccinated to achieve herd immunity by the end of the year. —KBK, GMA News