By Alec Go
Almost 3.5 million individuals were vaccinated against COVID-19 in the third round of the country’s massive vaccination drive dubbed as “Bayanihan, Bakunahan,” according to the Department of Health (DOH).
The government had a target to vaccinate five million individuals during the vaccination drive, which ran from Feb. 10 to 18, and was initially scheduled to take place from Feb. 10 to 11 only.
“Bagama’t hindi natin na-achieve iyong five million na ating target, atin pong kinagagalak pa rin na mayroon tayong achievement na at least 3.5 million,” Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said in the Laging Handa briefing on Saturday (Feb. 19).
The DOH spokesperson said among the challenges encountered in the vaccination drive is the deployment of health workers who are also engaged in other medical activities, including pediatric vaccination.
“Ang healthcare workers natin ay hindi lamang COVID-19 vaccination ang ginagawa. May mga ginagawang ibang health-related works sa kani-kanilang lugar kaya medyo ang healthcare workers ay bawas po ngayon,” she said.
She said house-to-house vaccination even in far-flung areas will be considered as the “next intervention,” noting that some regions already have high vaccination rates.
As of Feb. 17, a total of 61,545,232 first doses, 62,199,764 complete doses, and 9,489,120 doses have been administered in the Philippines.
The government urged eligible individuals to receive their booster doses as the country works to transition to a new normal stage of the COVID-19 situation.
“Higit pong nakakapagbigay ng mas mataas na antibody response ang pagtuturok ng booster shot at ganoon din, mas mananatiling mas mataas sa protective immune threshold ang antibodies na dulot nito,” Vergeire said in a briefing on Friday.
“Tinatayang nagiging 25 times na mas protektado ang isang indibidwal laban sa Omicron kung ito ay nakatanggap na ng booster shot kaysa nakakatapos pa lamang ng kanilang primary series,” she added. – bny
