Fully vaccinated in PH surpass 54 million

Motorists line up aboard their four-wheeled vehicles at the drive-thru booster vaccination site in the Quirino Grandstand in Manila City on Thursday, January 13, 2022. Photo from the Manila Public Information Office

MANILA, Philippines — Over 54 million Filipinos, or 70 percent of the country’s target population, have so far been fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

In a statement Friday, National Task Force (NTF) against COVID-19 noted that the government has administered a total of 117,383,756 vaccine doses as of Jan. 13.

Of this number, 54,457,863 individuals have completed their vaccination, or 70.60 percent of the nation’s target population, according to NTF.

The country’s average daily vaccination figure reached 1.04 million over the past three days, the NTF added.

Meanwhile, 4,415,333 individuals have already received their booster or additional doses as of Friday.

The national government aims to fully vaccinate at least 77 million Filipinos in the first quarter of this year, and inoculate 90 million by the end of the second quarter.

As of Jan. 13, the NTF said six regions in the country have already surpassed the 70-percent mark in terms of fully vaccinated individuals.

“These include Metro Manila (109.07%), Cordillera Administrative Region (78.43%), Ilocos Region (78.17%), Cagayan Valley (74.93%), Central Luzon (75.74%) and CALABARZON (71.92%),” the NTF said.

NTF chief implementer and vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. said the country’s vaccination rate shows the government’s commitment to continue expanding the vaccine rollout across all sectors of society despite the challenges posed by the increase in cases and the recent onslaught Typhoon Odette.

The typhoon affected at least six regions in Visayas and Mindanao, cutting off vital power and water supplies, which consequently affected the vaccination drive of local government units (LGUs).

Galvez urged LGUs to continue strengthening their vaccination strategies in order to vaccinate as many Filipinos as soon as possible.

“This current Omicron surge will target the unvaccinated,” he said. “Let us prioritize the unvaccinated individuals who belong to the vulnerable sectors, while also ramping up the administration of booster shots for eligible individuals.”

So far, over 213.6 million doses have arrived in the Philippines. Over 96 million doses are currently stocked in warehouses, ready to be deployed to LGUs across the Philippines, the NTF said.

On Friday, the Philippines broke a new single-day tally record after 37,207 additional COVID-19 cases were recorded by the Department of Health.

EDV