Gov't extends 3-day national vax drive until Dec. 3, 2021

The government has extended the November 29 to December 1, 2021 nationwide vaccination drive against COVID-19 until December 3 following requests from local government units.

The extension was formalized in an advisory signed by Health Secretary Francisco Duque III; Sec. Carlito Galvez Jr, chief implementer of National Task Force (NTF) Against COVID-19; and Sec. Vince Dizon, the presidential adviser on COVID-19 response and also the deputy chief implementer of NTF.

"To sustain the momentum of the operations of the NVD (National Vaccination Days) and to take advantage of the interest of constituents towards vaccination, the LGUs are allowed to extend the operations of the Bayanihan, Bakunahan National COVID-19 vaccination days until December 3, 2021," the advisory dated December 1, 2021 states.

With the extension, regional and local vaccination operations center are directed to "facilitate augmentation of resources and provisions of technical support" and "ensure allocation and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines and ancillaries to the LGUs" that will be extending the vaccination drive until December 3. 

In a radio interview earlier in the day, NTF spokesperson Restituto Padilla said a similar three-day vaccination event is also being planned for the middle of December.

The task force earlier mentioned the dates December 15 to 17, 2021.

According to Padilla, over 5 million jabs were administered on the first two days of the nationwide vaccination drive dubbed Bayanihan, Bakunahan National COVID-19 Vaccination Days.

"Hinihintay lang namin yung official count para sa ikatlong araw [We're just waiting for the official count for the third day]," he said.

The government aims to vaccinate some nine million Filipinos — down from an earlier target of 15 million — during the three-day period.

Around 8,000 vaccination sites have been activated, while 20,000 volunteers , including those from the uniformed service, have been tapped.

The vaccination drive covers the general population, minors aged 12-17 years old, and booster shots for healthcare workers, senior citizens, and immunocompromised.   —KBK, GMA News