The government targets to achieve herd immunity in identified coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) high-risk areas by November, a health official said Wednesday.
Department of Health Undersecretary and National Vaccination Operations Center (NVOC) chairperson Myrna Cabotaje said the government will intensify its vaccination drive in these areas which include the National Capital Region (NCR), Bulacan, Cavite, Rizal, Laguna, Pampanga, Batangas, Metro Cebu, and Metro Davao dubbed as ‘NCR Plus 8’.
“Ang target natin was 108,000 per day na jabs, so ibig sabihin, iyong mga ibinibigay nating mga supplies are enough. Ang gagawin natin for the next couple of weeks ay talagang isa-isahin iyong mga focused LGUs natin, iyong NCR Plus 8 para makita ano ba iyong kapasidad nila (Our target was 108,000 jabs daily, so that means the supplies that we give to them are enough),” Cabotaje said in a Laging Handa briefing.
As of Tuesday, Cabotaje said there are about 3,299,470 jabs that have been utilized for the inoculation of priority groups under categories A1 (health workers), A2 (senior citizens), and A3 (persons with comorbidities).
Some 2,512,942 Filipinos received their first dose of Covid-19 jabs, while 786,528 of them have been fully vaccinated.
Cabotaje said the government is confident to vaccinate at least 100,000 to 200,000 Filipinos daily once a steady supply of Covid-19 jabs becomes available.
“Marami na pong nagmamadali, nakakatuwa naman po (Many are hurrying, we are glad) that they all wanted to be vaccinated. Kaya since dumating na po iyong mga volumes ng vaccine natin, gagawin nating simultaneous (since volumes of Covid-19 jabs have already arrived, we will do it simultaneously),” she said.
With the arrival of more vaccines between June and August, she said the government is now ready for further expansion of the Covid-19 vaccination program.
The inoculation coverage will be expanded to categories A4 (government and economic front line workers) and A5 (indigent population), she said.
Cabotaje reiterated that the government will be focusing on the expansion of its vaccination drive in NCR Plus 8 areas.
Photo Source: Facebook/Manila Public Information Office