DOH: 40,419 minors with comorbidities vaccinated vs COVID-19

A total of 40,419 minors with comorbidities have been vaccinated against COVID-19 since the campaign started on October 15, the Department of Health (DOH) said Wednesday.

The number represented 3.18% of the target population of 1.2 million, said DOH Undersecretary and National Vaccination Operations Center chairperson Myrna Cabotaje at a press briefing.

The government on Wednesday also began vaccinating the rest of the pediatric population aged 12 to 17. The target population is 11.4 million.

Calabarzon has the highest number of eligible minor vaccine recipients with 1.6 million followed by Central Luzon.

Cabotaje said they are seeking to vaccinate 80% or around 10 million of the 12.7 million minors aged 12 to 17 by December.

The Philippines has administered 60.4 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines as of November 2, according to government records.

Some 32.65 million Filipinos have received at least one dose while 27.75 million have been fully vaccinated. A total of 932,762 vaccine doses were administered on Tuesday.

Vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. earlier said the government aims to administer one million to 1.5 million COVID-19 vaccine doses on a daily basis beginning November 20.

Cabotaje said the Philippines recorded two anaphylactic reactions or shocks and over 30 minor reactions.

These minor reactions included elevated blood pressure, headache, pain at the injection site, and rashes, among others.

Other priority groups

Data showed that 99.75% of healthcare workers have received at least one dose while 95.39% have been fully vaccinated against the illness. 

“Our senior citizens are slowly inching up but we need to push,” Cabotaje said.

Around 63.46% of seniors have received at least one dose while 57.98% have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

Meanwhile, 92.92% of individuals with comorbidities have received at least one dose while 81.56% have been fully vaccinated.

Data also showed that 8.72% of the rest of the adult population have received at least one dose while 2.25% have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

On Tuesday, the Philippines logged 2,303 new COVID-19 cases, the lowest daily count since the 2,067 cases reported on March 2. — VBL, GMA News