THE number of fully vaccinated individuals against coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) in the Philippines has breached five million, Malacañang announced Wednesday, July 21, 2021.
Based on the National Covid-19 Vaccination Dashboard, 5,031,301 persons have been fully vaccinated as of July 21.
They constitute almost 6.5 percent of the government’s vaccination target to achieve herd immunity, which has been revised to 77,746,906 based on a population of 111,067,008 as estimated by the United Nations.
First dose inoculations, meanwhile, reached 10,585,261, bringing the total number of doses administered nationwide to 15,616,562 as of July 20, nearly five months since the government began implementing its Covid-19 vaccination program.
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque Jr., in a press conference Wednesday, said total inoculations increased to 284,441 on Tuesday from 235,860 on Monday.
These were, however, lower than the 375,059 shots administered on July 13, the highest in a day since the vaccinations started.
He encouraged all citizens to avail themselves of the vaccines, which are free.
“Register yourselves. Coordinate with your LGUs (local government units) on how to register. The vaccine will provide additional protection against Covid-19,” he said.
As of July 17, 2021, the Philippines has received a total of 27,922,360 doses, consisting of 13.5 million doses of Sinovac, 6,858,900 doses of AstraZeneca, 2,472,210 doses of Pfizer, 3,240,850 doses of the single-dose Janssen (Johnson & Johnson), 500,400 doses of Moderna and 350,000 doses of Sputnik V.
Central Visayas has received 1,307,580 doses, consisting of 610,640 doses of Sinovac; 347,600 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine; 241,020 doses of Pfizer; 10,700 doses of Gamaleya; and 96,450 doses of Janssen.
Single-dose vaccine
With the arrival of the 96,450 doses of the single-dose Janssen viral vector vaccine on Monday, July 19, in Central Visayas, Visayas Covid-19 Vaccination Operations Center (VVOC) spokesperson Dr. Mary Jean Loreche challenged vaccination units run by the government and the Project Balik Buhay (PBB) in Metro Cebu to convince all senior citizens on their master lists to get inoculated.
The Department of Health (DOH) has specified that the senior citizens, or adults who are 60 and older, be prioritized for the Janssen (Johnson & Johnson) vaccine to prepare for a possible surge in cases due to the highly contagious Delta variant.
Senior citizens, who comprise priority group A2, have the highest risk of developing severe Covid-19 and dying from the disease.
As of July 18, only 1.19 million senior citizens nationwide have been fully vaccinated, or 12.7 percent of the 9.4 million target.
“The challenge for our Metro Cebu and PBB is to make sure you hunt down all these senior citizens that are masterlisted here and give your Johnson & Johnson (vaccine) as a single dose,” Loreche said.
“Mahalaga na kumbinsihin natin yung ating mga senior citizens (It is important for us to convince our senior citizens to have themselves vaccinated). Ang kadahilanan po nito, alam natin that with (Because of) all these variants of concern entering the country, particularly, right now, we have the Delta variant, we need to secure our vulnerable sectors in order for us to prevent mortalities,” she added.
The Janssen vaccine, which was donated by the United States Government through Covax, is given as a single dose to adults 18 years old and older. It comes in a vial, which contains up to five doses, that may be stored at two to eight degrees Celsius for up to three months.
DOH officials have said that the vaccine may also be administered to persons with comorbidities, or group A3, who are at risk of hospitalization and death next to the senior citizens.
Loreche said Metro Cebu had an allocation of 46,050 doses or 9,210 vials of the Janssen vaccine.
Of these, 2,970 vials will go to Cebu City; 2,250 vials to Mandaue City; 1,450 vials to Lapu-Lapu City; 760 vials to Talisay City; 650 vials to the City of Naga; 580 vials to Minglanilla; 340 vials to Consolacion; and 210 vials to the PBB, a public-private vaccination initiative catering to companies and organizations.
Mandaue City
The 2,250 vials, or 11,250 doses, of the Janssen vaccine allocated for Mandaue City have reached the local vaccination operations center.
Mandaue City Emergency Operations Center (EOC) head August Lizer Malate said the vaccine will be administered only at the Mandaue City Cultural and Sports Complex, where a priority lane has been designated for senior citizens.
Malate said he was hopeful that more senior citizens will now agree to get vaccinated.
He stressed that vaccination is one of the ways to combat Covid-19 transmission. Others are contact tracing, testing and isolating the Covid-19 patients.
But he said they need the public’s cooperation to successfully implement these.
Loreche said vaccinators have been trained on how to handle the vaccine. She reminded all vaccinators to be meticulous in observing the steps before, during and after inoculation.
Possible adverse events that require medical attention include pain, tingling sensation or weakness in the arms and legs as well as difficulty moving these.
Vaccine recipients must also immediately seek consultation if they experience difficulty in breathing, increase in heart rate, or either increase or decrease in blood pressure.
Central Visayas
In the region, 228,406 adults have received two doses out of the 556,265 individuals who have been inoculated with at least one dose.
A total of 784,671 doses have been administered, as follows: 557,289 in Cebu; 110,194 doses in Bohol; 86,965 doses in Negros Oriental; and 30,223 doses in Siquijor.
In Cebu, 159,941 have been fully vaccinated out of the 397,348 first dose recipients.
Cebu City administered a total of 212,028; Mandaue City, 111,908; Lapu-Lapu City, 57,224; and Cebu Province, 176,129 doses.
Cebu City Health Department (CHD) officer-in-charge Jeffrey Ibones said more than 330,000 individuals have now registered under the Covid-19 vaccination program.
They comprise around 47.3 percent of the 700,000 target population for vaccination in the City.
“So far makita nato nga magpabakuna na gyud sila maong daghan kay’g taw atong mga vaccination sites (so far, we can see that people want to be vaccinated, which is why a lot of people show up at our vaccination sites),” said Ibones in an interview on July 21, 2021.
Cebu City
Management Information and Computer Services (MICS) officer-in-charge Richter Castañares said that as of July 21, they have registered 331,160 individuals.
Of the total, economic workers under priority group A4 comprised the biggest group with 72,003 persons registered, followed by A3 (persons with comorbidities) with 70,476 registered individuals.
A total of 54,749 senior citizens (A2) have registered, as well as 27,847 from the indigent sector (A5), 16,299 medical workers (A1) and 4,096 uniformed personnel.
There were 85,690 others who did not indicate their categories.
As of July 21, Ibones said 38,403 adults in Cebu City have been fully vaccinated out of the 107,362 first dose recipients. A total of 145,765 doses have been administered.
Among the fully vaccinated, 14,827 are A2 while 10,604 are A3. The City has also given two doses to 6,349 persons under A1, 2,810 from A4, 465 from A5 and 249 uniformed personnel.
There were 3,099 fully vaccinated individuals who did not indicate their categories.
There have been 8,994 first dose recipients from A1, 26,966 from A2, 31,759 from A3, 24,381 from A4, 2,514 from A5 and 1,138 uniformed personnel.
A total of 11,610 recipients of one dose did not indicate their categories. (SunStar Philippines/WBS/KFD/JJL)