PNP personnel receive COVID-19 vaccine jabs under the A4 priority group in Camp Crame, Quezon City on Tuesday, June 15. Niño Jesus Orbeta/Philippine Daily Inquirer
MANILA, Philippines — At least 35 percent or 79,082 of the 220,000 police officers nationwide have been fully vaccinated against the COVID-19 pandemic, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said.
PNP’s data on Monday showed that 41.89 percent or 92,914 are just awaiting their second dose to complete their immunization, leaving only 22.45 percent of the entire police force without any dose of the anti-COVID-19 vaccine.
However, coronavirus infections continue to plague the police force, with 106 new COVID-19 cases recorded, leading to an active case count of 1,970.
PNP chief Gen. Guillermo Eleazar also confirmed that one 50-year-old police officer from Ilocos Region recently succumbed to the disease. The police officer tested positive last July 28, and died after 17 days.
“The deceased tested positive on July 28, 2021, and was admitted to a nearby hospital, however, after 17 days of battling against the infectious disease, the said police officer succumbed and recorded as the 92nd fatality,” Eleazar noted.
“Taos pusong pakikiramay po ang ating ipinaaabot sa pamilya ng pulis na namatay. Nakakalungkot na halos araw-araw ay mayroong pulis na namamatay sa Covid-19, kaya naman po dobleng pagsisikap ang ating isinasagawa upang maging fully vaccinated na ang bawat pulis,” he added.
The country is banking on COVID-19 vaccinations to usher in herd immunity, to ensure that the economy would be revived before the year ends. Vaccination appears important more than ever as looming threats from COVID-19 variants have forced the national government to place parts of the country on another enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) status.
Currently, the country has 106,672 active infections due to 14,610 new infections recorded on Monday.