THE number of individuals who have received at least one dose of a vaccine against coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) has increased to almost 4.0 million, the Department of Health (DOH) reported Monday, May 31, 2021.
Vaccinations, however, slowed down to a daily average of 144,402 in the recent seven days to May 30 compared to 162,513 a day as of May 22.
In a statement, the DOH said a total of 3,974,350 individuals have been inoculated, including 1,206,371 who have completed the two-dose regimen since inoculations began on March 1, 2021.
The fully vaccinated individuals comprise less than 2.0 percent of the vaccination target of up to 70 million people this year.
A total of 5,180,721 doses have been administered as of 6 p.m. of May 30. Only 1,124 vaccination sites reported their data.
More than 2.7 million people still have to receive their second dose.
The government is simultaneously inoculating Priority Groups A1 (health workers, mayors, governors, relatives of health workers), A2 (senior citizens) and A3 (persons with comorbidities).
Group A4 will be eligible to receive the vaccine in June, although some workers were inoculated during the Labor Day celebration on May 1.
Group A4 consists of government employees, and private sector and informal sector workers who need to work outside of their homes.
Of the 3.97 million individuals who received one dose, 1,403,647 are from A1, 1,379,946 are senior citizens, 1,179,930 are persons with comorbidities, and 10,827 are from A4.
The fully vaccinated include 671,422 from A1, 245,244 from A2, 286,670 from A3, and 3,035 from A4.
The government’s long-term goal is to achieve herd immunity by vaccinating 70 percent of the Philippines’ 108 million people.
With the low supply of vaccines, however, vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. and the DOH shifted short-term strategies to focus on protecting the vulnerable population in the NCR Plus 8, which consists of the National Capital Region, Metro Cebu, Metro Davao, and the provinces of Bulacan, Cavite, Pampanga, Laguna, Batangas and Rizal.
Galvez, a retired military general, likened these areas that are also epidemic hotspots to what the military calls centers of gravity.
This area has a combined population estimated at 83 million. To achieve herd immunity in this area, Galvez said they aim to vaccinate 58.68 million individuals by the end of 2021.
As of May 30, the Philippines has received a total of 8,329,050 doses of Covid-19 vaccines, consisting of 5.5 million doses of Sinovac (CoronaVac), 2.556 million of AstraZeneca, 193,050 doses of Pfizer and 80,000 doses of Sputnik V from Russia.
The AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines were donated through Covax while one million doses of the 5.5 million Sinovac doses were donated by China.
The rest was procured by the government. (Marites Villamor-Ilano / SunStar Philippines)