MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines is aiming to achieve herd immunity against Covid-19 by 2023, Department of Health (DOH) Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire disclosed Monday.
“Itong (This) herd immunity, we are looking to finish all of the targeted population based on the plan that has been approved, by 2023,” she said in an online press briefing.
Herd immunity is a concept wherein a virus can no longer spread easily because enough people are made immune to it via vaccination.
But Vergeire also said reaching herd immunity in the country even before 2023 is likewise possible.
The country’s vaccine czar, Carlito Galvez Jr., said last year that the government intends to vaccinate 75 to 80 percent of the population to achieve herd immunity against Covid-19.
The Philippines is planning the rollout of Covid-19 vaccines this month, with health workers from the Philippine General Hospital in Manila, Lung Center of the Philippines and East Avenue Medical Center in Quezon City, and Dr. Jose Natalio Rodriguez Memorial Medical Center (Tala Hospital) in Caloocan City as first recipients.