The Department of Health (DOH) is expecting more fully vaccinated individuals due to AstraZeneca jab recipients’ second dose inoculation after a 12-week interval.
The DOH on June 3 said only 9% of COVID-19 first dose recipients, or around 113,000 individuals, have deferred their second dose inoculation.
Dr. John Wong of the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) technical working group on data analytics earlier said that around 50% of CoronaVac and Sputnik V recipients missed their second jab.
DOH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said in a statement that among the reasons for missing the scheduled second dose are getting sick, COVID-19 exposure, and quarantine.
“Kung matatandaan niyo… noong time na kasagsagan ng mga kaso dito sa NCR Plus Bubble, ito rin ‘yung time na talagang ‘yung allocation ng vaccines ay mataas dito sa NCR Plus Bubble,” she said.
“And during that time, may mga kababayan tayong na-expose, nagkasakit. So come their second scheduled time, na-defer sila because of sickness or illness because of being exposed,” she added.
The DOH said those who missed their schedule can still head to vaccination sites.
Meanwhile, the government has been considering airport and port green lanes for fully vaccinated individuals.
Vergeire said experts’ recommended threshold before easing restriction to vaccinated individuals is at 30%. Experts are also suggesting vaccinating at least 50% of senior citizens before implementing the green lanes.
“Yung pong mga bansa na nakakapagpatupad na ng ganitong liberal incentives para sa fully vaccinated katulad po sa Estados Unidos, almost 40% of their population are vaccinated already. Sa UK, 30% or more of their population are vaccinated already,” Vergeire said. – Report from Mark Fetalco/AG-rir
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