The government surpassed the target set for the second phase of its National Vaccine Days (NVD), with close to 7.5 million Filipinos vaccinated against COVID-19 from Dec. 15 to 23 nationwide, despite the onslaught of Typhoon Odette and the arrival of the holidays, Malacanang said.
Acting presidential spokesman Karlo Nograles said that as of Dec. 26, 2021, a total of 7,497,802 doses were administered during the second iteration of the NVD, exceeding the initial target of 7,326,613 jabs.
“We thank our kababayans for their cooperation and for the steps they have taken to protect themselves, their families, and their communities,” said Nograles.
“We likewise commend our medical frontliners, vaccinators, and volunteers for their sacrifice, dedication and service to the country,” he added.
For NVD phase 2, Region 4-A recorded the highest number of cumulative jabs with 1,244,191, followed by Region 3 with 919,822, and Region 6 with 658,805 administered jabs.
Region 1 recorded the highest percentage of jabs administered compared to its NVD 2 target, with 561,858 jabs or 277.84 percent of its 202,224 target jabs to be administered.
Region 2 followed, achieving 232.57 percent of their target, while Region 10 accomplished 173.27 percent of its NVD 2 target.
Nograles said that with the looming threat of the Omicron variant of COVID-19, people must continue to be vigilant and alert by observing minimum public health standards on top of getting vaccinated.
Meanwhile, National Task Force Against COVID-19 Chief Implementer Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr assured the public that there are vaccine supplies sufficient to achieve the government’s target to fully vaccinate 77 million Filipinos by the first quarter of 2022.
Galvez added that the government’s priority is still to vaccinate the unvaccinated, including the pediatric population.
The government clarified on Monday that the COVID-19 inoculation of children aged five to 11 years old has yet to start.
In an advisory, the Department of Health (DOH) said preparations are underway for the vaccine rollout of the youngest age group.
The National Vaccination Operations Center will announce the exact vaccination schedule “as soon as COVID-19 vaccines suitable for the ages 5 to 11 and its appropriate syringes become available”, the DOH said.
“While waiting for the Covid-19 vaccines to be rolled out or this pediatric group, we recommend that children complete their routine immunization to be protected from more contagious and fatal diseases, like measles, rubella, tetanus, and diphtheria,” the advisory read.
The government is eyeing the vaccination of at least 13.5 million children aged 5 to 11 against Covid-19.
The country’s Food and Drug Authorization has already issued emergency use approval for the lower dosage of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for the age bracket.
The National Task Force Against Covid-19 said the procurement of actual Pfizer doses with the lower dosage and concentration is ongoing.
The deliveries of the specified Pfizer vaccines might start in January next year.
Meanwhile, some 1,957,000 doses of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine procured by the private sector arrived in the Philippines on Sunday evening.
The Philippines has so far administered 105,343,314 doses of COVID-19 vaccines.
At least 47 million people have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, and 1,369,432 have received their booster shots.
Also on Monday, Pharmaserv Express, the government’s third-party cold-chain facility and logistics partner for the inoculation program, said it achieved zero-wastage in its transport and handling of COVID-19 vaccines since the vaccination rollout began in March.
, with close to 7.5 million Filipinos vaccinated against COVID-19 from Dec. 15 to 23 nationwide, despite the onslaught of Typhoon Odette and the arrival of the holidays, Malacanang said.){kind=link}