More than 200,000 individuals have already been inoculated with COVID-19 vaccines, Vaccine Czar Carlito Galvez Jr. said on Tuesday.
“As of 11AM today, mayroon na tayong 216,794 medical frontliners na nagkaroon na ng vaccination (As of 11 AM today, we have 216,794 medical frontliners who have had vaccination),” Galvez reported.
Based on the March 15 data of the government, a total of 1,079,400 or 96 percent of the 1,125,600 combined doses of CoronaVac have been distributed to 16 regions and the BARMM.
In terms of vaccine wastage, Galvez admitted that it is only “minimal” for the Chinese vaccine.
The completion of healthcare workers’ vaccination is expected this March if the 2.3 million doses of vaccines from Sinovac and the COVAX Facility will arrive.
Although the bulk of vaccines are expected to arrive in the coming months, the public is urged to continue practicing minimum health standards since the vaccine is only an added protection against COVID-19.
As of March 16, the country has 631,320 cases after logging 4,437 new cases in one day. Active cases have also gone up to 57,736. Among the factors being considered in the surge of cases are increased mobility and the threat of new COVID-19 variants. – AG, PTV News Online