The Philippines is planning to start immunizing by August once enough stocks of COVID-19 vaccine are available. -INQUIRER FILE PHOTO/GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE
MANILA, Philippines — Vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. said the Philippines is aiming to begin immunizing the general public by August once the supply of COVID-19 vaccine builds up.
Galvez said the government expects to finish vaccination for A1 (health care workers), A2 (senior citizens 60 years old and up) and A3 (comorbidities) by the beginning of July.
Meanwhile, Galvez said the government is looking to start the vaccination by June for the A4 (economic personnel) and A5 (indigent population) priority groups.
“Sa August, we are targeting na kapag dumagsa na ang ating mga vaccines, pwede na tayong magkaroon ng—general public vaccination na tayo by August kasi mayroon na tayong mga eksakto na mga bakuna,” Galvez said.
(In August, when our vaccines flood in, we’ll have a public vaccination because we already got the vaccines.)
According to Galvez, more than one million healthcare workers have already been vaccinated, while more than 240,000 senior citizens have also received their COVID-19 jabs. Meanwhile, more than 256,000 persons with comorbidities have also been vaccinated.
Data from the Department of Health (DOH) showed that the country has so far administered over 1.8 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.
As of April 27, a total of 1,809,801 doses, composed of 1,562,815 doses as first jab and 246,986 as second, have been administered to priority sectors.
Meanwhile, the seven-day average of vaccinated individuals per day is 35,320.
READ: Over 1.8M COVID-19 vaccine doses administered so far in PH