According to data from the government, more than 10 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been injected in the Philippines.
More than 2.5 million individuals have been fully vaccinated or received 2 doses, while more than 7.5 million have been injected with the first dose.
According to the National Task Force (NTF) Against COVID-19, vaccination against COVID-19 is accelerating in the Philippines, now averaging 250,000 doses per day.
If it took 3 months before the first 5 million doses were given, the second 5 million were injected even before the end of the current month. Vaccination against COVID-19 began on March 1 in the Philippines.
According to the NTF, as long as all the COVID-19 vaccine doses purchased by the government arrive in the country this year, they are confident that up to 70 million individuals can be vaccinated before the end of 2021 to achieve herd immunity.
The government is said to be targeting 10 million COVID-19 vaccine doses in the month of July.
For molecular biologist Fr. Nicanor Austriaco, a member of the OCTA Research Group, herd immunity is likely to be achieved in NCR Plus 8 by Christmas if the more contagious Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, does not spread across the country.
Over 10 million COVID-19 vaccine doses injected in Philippines
NCR Plus 8 includes the National Capital Region, Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, Rizal, Batangas, Pampanga, Metro Cebu and Metro Davao.
According to Austriaco, it is possible to reach herd immunity in the areas because there is no recorded community transmission of the Delta variant in the country due to the tightened border control.
Valenzuela City Mayor Rex Gatchalian is confident that herd immunity will be reached in his city before the end of November.
According to Gatchalian, after vaccinating Valenzuela residents, they will help vaccinate residents in nearby areas such as Bulacan.
Meanwhile, the Makati city government is already investigating. The Department of Health will also investigate the alleged “breach of vaccination protocol” when it was found that the COVID-19 vaccine was not injected into a resident in Makati.
According to NTF Deputy Chief Implementer Vince Dizon, the health worker who injected the vaccine was tired, but the incident was isolated.
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