Around 40 million eligible Filipinos yet to receive 1st booster shot — DOH

A Marikina resident takes a selfie while getting a booster shot. NIÑO JESUS ORBETA/FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — Around 40 million eligible Filipinos have yet to receive their first COVID-19 vaccine booster shot, the Department of Health (DOH) said Friday.

According to Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire, around 55 million Filipinos are eligible to receive their first booster shot.

Of this number, only 15.2 million Filipinos have received the booster shot against COVID-19.

“We are looking at around 40 million eligible Filipinos who are still yet to receive their booster shot,” Vergeire said during the Laging Handa briefing.

Meanwhile, Vergeire said more than 70 million Filipinos are now fully vaccinated against COVID-19. These individuals have received their first two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.

READ: DOH says minors 12 to 17 years old can now get anti-COVID booster shot

Vergeire said the health department has presented to President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. their strategy to increase the vaccination rate in the country.

“Ilalapit natin sa mga komunindad ang bakuna. Tayo ay gagawa ng mga pagsusuyod doon sa mga lugar na malalayo, doon sa mga lugar na ang ating mga kababayan ay hindi talaga maka-access ng ating vaccination sites,” Vergeire said.

(We will bring the vaccines to communities. We will go to far-flung areas and to our fellow citizens who really cannot access our vaccination sites.)

“We will go house-to-house for our senior citizens and of course, we will be mobilizing and asking help from our Department of Education, Department of Labor and Employment, DILG, at sa iba pang ahensya ng gobyerno para maging whole-of-government approach pa rin tayo,” she added.

(We will go house-to-house for our senior citizens and of course, we will be mobilizing and asking for help from our Department of Education, Department of Labor and Employment, Department of the Interior and Local Government, and other government agencies so this will be a whole-of-government approach.)

/MUF/abc