The Philippine government is seven million short of its target to vaccinate 77 million people by the end of June, two weeks before President Rodrigo Duterte steps down from office.
The latest report by the National Vaccination Operations Center (NVOC) showed that as of June 17, a total of 70,005,247 individuals were fully vaccinated which was roughly 77.8 percent of the target population.
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NTF chief implementer Carlito Galvez Jr. said the latest milestone was the administration’s parting gift to the people. “We hope that our new leaders will also prioritize our vaccination program and continue to build an immunity wall among our people,” he said in a statement.
Authorities have said that a total of 153,013,072 COVID-19 vaccine doses were administered, with 74,813,407 individuals receiving at least one dose as of June 17 against around 77 million individuals or 85 percent of the eligible population to be vaccinated by the end of June.
“We have had many superspreader events in the past months, including the national elections, but we still managed to keep our new COVID-19 cases low because of our high vaccination rate,” Galvez said.
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“But vaccination alone is not enough. We still have to follow our public health protocols, including frequent washing of hands and wearing of best fitted face masks,” he added.
Urged the public to get their booster shots in order to increase the protection provided by the primary doses, he said, “ Napakahalaga pong makakuha ng booster shot para mapalakas ang proteksyon na dulot ng bakuna. Para sa mga pwede na ring kumuha ng second booster shot, magpabakuna na agad.”
