Half a million individuals complete COVID-19 vaccine doses

Village health workers stage a dry run of COVID-19 vaccination in an inoculation hub at Lakeshore Mega Complex in Lower Bicutan village, Taguig City in January, in preparation for the arrival of vaccines in February. INQUIRER file photo / RICHARD A. REYES

MANILA, Philippines — More than 500,000 individuals have completed their dual doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, the Department of Health (DOH) said Wednesday.

Of the over 2.5 million vaccines administered, DOH Undersecretary Myrna Cabotaje said 514,655 already received two doses of the jab while 2,025,038 received their first dose.

A bulk of those who have completed their vaccination comes from the A1 category or health workers with 365,242. Nearly 1.2 million only received their first dose.

“Sa A1 (health workers), meron pa tayong mga 24 percent na hindi nababakunahan,” Cabotaje said in a televised briefing.

(Under A1, we still have 24 percent that have yet to be vaccinated.)

The government targets to inoculate 1.7 million health workers against COVID-19.

Meanwhile, Cabotaje said 466,899 senior citizens received their first dose and 25,070 already completed the two doses.

Among individuals with comorbidities, 353,824 received their first dose and 134,343 completed their vaccination.

With more vaccines being delivered in the country, Cabotaje said they are eyeing to increase the number of people getting vaccinated.

The most recent deliveries of vaccines were two million doses of AstraZeneca and 193,050 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech, both from the World Health Organization-led COVAX facility.

JPV