By NG Seruela
The National Capital Region (NCR) recorded its highest daily jabs against COVID-19 on Thursday (Aug. 12).
Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairperson Benhur Abalos announced that the region has administered 231,000 jabs in a day.
In a Laging Handa public briefing, National Task Force (NTF) against COVID-19 Deputy Chief Implementer and testing czar Sec. Vince Dizon said the vaccination in the region has greatly improved compared to July where over 100,000 jabs per day only were being administered.
“Noong nakaraang buwan po eh mahigit isandaang libo lang po kada araw ang nababakuna ng NCR…umabot po ng 231,000 ang nabakuna ng buong National Capital Region. Malapit na po nating maabot iyong ating target pero marami pa ring paghamon pero po naniniwala tayo na maaabot din natin ‘to sa mga susunod na araw,” he said.
Sec. Dizon bared that they are aiming to fully vaccinate 50% of the population in NCR by the end of August.
He said the greatest challenge they are facing is the lack of personnel. He explained that other staff will also be assigned to a different task due to the lack of personnel.
“Halimbawa po ‘no, iyong ating mga nagbabakuna na nurse, sila din po ang kinakailangan natin na mag-alaga sa ating mga kababayan na nagkakasakit ngayon sa mga ospital. Iyong ating mga doktor ganoon din po, iyong atin naman pong mga volunteers, sila din po ang ginagamit ng ating mga LGU, iyong ating mga barangay emergency response teams, sila din ang ginagamit sa ating disease prevention at sila din po ang minsan ay ginagamit lalo na iyong mga kawani ng DSWD at ng mga City Social Welfare Offices sa pagbibigay ng ayuda,” he said.
In relation to this, Dizon announced that as of Aug. 12, the country administered 26.7 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine where the country’s average daily jabs reached 550,000 to 558,000 since the start of August. He disclosed that the government has vaccinated almost seven million doses within 12 days of August.
“Kung ikukumpara po natin ito doon sa July, tayo lang po ay nakaka-average ng mga 320,000. So ngayon lang pong Agosto, unang 12 araw eh sumipa na po tayo nang mahigit 200,000 kada araw ang ating nababakuna,” he added. -rir
