The Philippines has achieved another milestone with the administration of 100,019,137 COVID-19 vaccines doses since it began its national vaccination program last March 1.
The increase in doses administered is in line with the country’s second rollout of the national vaccination campaign dubbed as Bayanihan Bakunahan on Dec. 15 to 17 despite the onslaught of Typhoon Odette.
Data from the National Vaccination Operations Center (NVOC) show that 1,794,433 doses were administered on Dec. 15 to 16.
Vaccine czar Sec. Carlito Galvez Jr. said they have been coordinating with the Department of Energy (DOE) to immediately restore the supply of electricity in areas affected by the typhoon, and to prioritize major cities where huge warehouses are situated.
Galvez said no vaccines were damaged during the typhoon’s onslaught.
“‘Yung first day natin, almost 2/3rds are affected… But we are happy na kahit 1/3 lang ang capacity natin ay we are able to gather 1.1-M [doses] yesterday,” he said.
In a statement, Malacañang commended the NVOC, Department of Health, the National Task Force (NTF) Against COVID-19, and all participants and volunteers of the vaccination drive for a “job well done.”
“This, however, must not lull us into complacency. We will continue to ramp up our vaccination efforts and call on those unvaccinated to get their jabs as soon as possible to protect themselves, their loved ones, and their community,” Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said.
To date, 43 million individuals have been fully vaccinated in the country, with 11 million who have yet to be vaccinated to meet the 54 million fully vaccinated population target by the end of the year.
Galvez said they will allocate Janssen vaccines to regions with low vaccination coverage and are isolated, including the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
Nearly six million individuals vaccinated in the first Bayanihan Bakunahan rollout are also set to receive their second dose on Dec. 19 to 23.
World Health Organization (WHO) Country Rep. Dr. Rabindra Abeyasinghe said the WHO has started the solidarity trial in which the Philippines is participating.
“This announcement today is a milestone as we formally announce the inclusion of the Philippines in the WHO STV [Solidarity Trial Vaccines],” he said.
Department of Science and Technology (DOST) USec. Rowena Guevarra said “this initiative is separate from our ongoing COVID-19 vaccination program.”
Meanwhile, the DOH has located the seventh close contact of the Nigerian national detected with the Omicron variant. The contact tested negative for COVID-19.
Abeyasinghe said it is not unlikely for Omicron to replace the Delta variant as the current dominant variant. – Report from Mark Fetalco/AG-rir
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