DOH eyes 3.6 million more COVID-19 booster shots by Oct. 8 to hit PinasLakas target

The Department of Health (DOH) said Tuesday that it has to administer first COVID-19 booster doses to around 3.6 million more Filipinos to reach its PinasLakas campaign target of boosting 30% of the eligible population within the first 100 days of the Marcos administration.

In a media briefing, DOH officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire said that at least 3.2 million individuals have been inoculated with the first booster shot under the government’s PinasLakas campaign so far.

This brings the cumulative booster tally to 19.7 million individuals, equating to around 25% of the eligible population.

To achieve the government’s goal of boosting 30% of the target population by October 8, or President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.'s 100th day in office, Vergeire said that they still need to boost an additional 3.6 million individuals.

“We said that we have recalibrated and we will try to achieve 30% by October 8. Sa ngayon, we still lack around 5%, which is equated to around 3.6 million that we still need to cover for us to reach the 30%,” she said.

Further, Vergeire said they were also able to vaccinate over 42,000 senior citizens with the primary vaccine series under the PinasLakas campaign. About 6.8 million or 78.5% of the eligible A2 population are now fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

“We’ll try to reach also around additional 12% pa...to reach 90% by October 8,” she added.

DOH launched PinasLakas in July, initially aiming to administer booster shots to 50% of the country's eligible population within the first 100 days of the Marcos administration.

The agency adjusted its target to 30% after failing to meet the campaign’s daily goals since it started. — BM, GMA News