DOH increases daily COVID-19 vaccination rate to meet target

An employee of the Central Luzon Center for Health Development administers a booster shot to a person in a recent vaccination activity in the City of San Fernando, Pampanga. (Photo courtesy of DOH Health Central Luzon)

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Health (DOH) has increased its daily vaccination target of booster shots against COVID-19 after it failed to meet the goal for the first week of its PinasLakas program.

The PinasLakas program, launched on July 26, aims to administer booster shots to 23 million individuals — or half of the eligible population — within President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s first 100 days in the office or until October 8.

For the campaign’s first week, the DOH’s goal is to give booster doses to at least 397,000 individuals and 17,000 elderly per day.

“Ang atin lang pong na-achieve from the day that we have launched hanggang sa ngayon ay 384,000 for the first boosters,” DOH officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire reported in a media forum on Friday.

(We only achieved 384,000 for the first boosters from the day we launched until now.)

“Atin pong nagkaroon lang ng 17,000 for our senior citizens. So ngayon in-adjust na po natin ang targets natin,” she added.

(We only boosted 17,000 of our senior citizens. So, now, we have adjusted our targets.)

According to Vergeire, the new target will be administering a booster dose to 20,774 seniors and 443,892 individuals per day until October 8.

A total of 15,468 vaccination sites have been set up for the PinasLakas campaign as of August 4.

Based on the latest DOH data, around 71.5 million individuals are fully vaccinated for COVID-19. Of the figure, 16.4 million received a booster dose.