Vaccine rollout still ‘relatively slow’ despite 101 million doses ready

DON’T LEAVE HOME WITHOUT IT Passengers bound for Central Luzon on Wednesday are required to present proof of their COVID-19 vaccination before they are allowed to board their bus at Baliwag Transit Terminal on Edsa in Cubao, Quezon City. —NIÑO JESUS ORBETA

MANILA, Philippines — The country’s top health officials on Wednesday called for the acceleration of COVID-19 vaccination for senior citizens, children age 5 to 11 and those eligible for booster shots as fresh infections surged anew amid the spread of the new Omicron variant.

Describing the booster rollout as “relatively slow,” vaccine czar Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. called on the local government units to ramp up the administration of booster shots to maintain protection levels of the vaccinated population particularly in Metro Manila and other urban centers.

Galvez said there was a “steady supply” of vaccines in the country with more than 101 million doses currently stored in various warehouses throughout the country waiting to be administered.

With the onset of the new year, he said the other key tasks under the national vaccination program would be to administer 20 million boosters to qualified individuals, expand the vaccination to children age 5 to 11 years old to further ensure the opening of classes and relax restrictions for minors, and increase demand for vaccines in order to efficiently manage vaccine administration and prevent unnecessary wastage.

2.5M still unvaxxed

The secretary also said there were around 2.5 million seniors who remain unvaccinated.

“We intend to repeat the successful vaccination days. This time it will be focused on our seniors and also focused on the different areas,” Galvez said.

“We are planning to put up a national vaccination day for the senior citizens and also for those who have completed their primary series first and second doses,” Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said in a town hall event organized by Go Negosyo.

“We must exert extra effort to see to it that they will be prioritized,” he added as he stressed that they continue to encourage elderly people and those with comorbidities to get vaccinated as they are the ones vulnerable to COVID-19.

Duque also said that the government intends to push for a more aggressive booster for the elderly.

“Vaccines protect not only the individual but also our families, communities, and our country. So, let us all join the vaccinated and not the intubated as they say,” he said.

‘False sense of security’

The government is eyeing to vaccinate 8,254,531 senior citizens nationwide. However, there were only 5,669,493 fully vaccinated seniors as of Jan. 4 this year.

Also, only 582,318 elderly have received their booster shots.

Galvez said the booster shot rollout has been “relatively slow” and mentioned around 60 cities and adjacent towns where the booster vaccination drives should be ramped up. He said a “false sense of security” sometimes occurs in cities with a high number of vaccinated residents.

Metro Manila numbers

“We just have to remind the key cities which have more than 70 percent to 100 percent vaccination coverage… Our people’s protection [levels] should be further expanded and enhanced through the administration of boosters,” Galvez said during President Rodrigo Duterte’s meeting with Cabinet executives and medical experts that was aired on state television.

For Metro Manila, Galvez presented statistics showing that as of Dec. 28, 2021, there were 10.4 million fully vaccinated residents comprising 82 percent of the 12.6 million eligible recipients.

The 12.6 million eligibles are those age 5 and above and make up 90 percent of Metro Manila’s total population of 14 million.

Out of the 10.4 million fully vaccinated individuals, Galvez said 6.5 million completed their jabs on or before Sept. 26 last year and were supposed to have started getting their booster shots. As of Dec. 28, however, only 580,000 have received their third doses.

The 6.5 million due for booster shots comprise 52 percent of the 12.6 million eligibles, leaving only 3.8 million or 30 percent of the 12.6 million who have enough antibodies and are currently fully protected against severe illness, hospitalization and death, Galvez said.

Based on the national vaccination dashboard, a total of 50,627,196 Filipinos around the country were already fully vaccinated. A total of 2,207,941 people got their booster shots.

The national government is looking to fully inoculate at least 77,139,058 individuals in the country to achieve immunity.