The government said achieving herd immunity by the end of the year remains a huge challenge as the only 4.5 percent of the target population have been fully-vaccinated against COVID-19, vaccine czar and National Task Force against COVID-19 chief implementer Carlito Galvez Jr. said.
“We have administered so far 13,196,282 vaccines. Of that number, we have given the first dose to 9,669,940 or 12.44 percent of our target population. For the second dose, we have only full-vaccinated 3,526,342 or about 4.54 percent of our target. So, achieving herd immunity by the end of the year remains a huge challenge,” Galvez said during President Rodrigo Duterte’s public address late Monday evening.
The government initially targeted vaccinating 60 to 70 percent of the population or about 70 million individuals to achieve herd immunity.
However, the tight global vaccine supply has forced health experts to shift the target toward population protection, which entails vaccinating 58 million individuals in highly urbanized areas.
Health Secretary Francisco Duque said achieving herd immunity is the ultimate goal, but it will depend on the arrival of life-saving vaccines in the country as it would require a total of 140 million doses.
“If, on a regular basis, we receive 10 to 15 million a month, or even 20 million a month, that can be achieved in 140 days,” Duque said.
Decreasing efficacy vs. variants
For his part, Food and Drug Administration director-general Eric Domingo said all vaccine brands are effective in protecting individuals against COVID-19, even as their efficacy slightly decreases depending on the variant.
The Pfizer jab, for example, has a 93 percent efficacy rate against the Alpha variant first detected in the UK, and 88 percent against the Delta strain which first emerged in India.
AstraZeneca had a 66 percent efficacy rate against the Alpha variant, and 60 percent for the Delta mutation, Domingo said.
"There's a decreasing efficacy as we get more mutations but the vaccines remain efficient and useful,” he said.
Moderna and J&J have also shown at least 80 percent efficacy against the Delta variant, while other drugmakers such Sinovac, and Sinopharm are still conducting efficacy trials against the strain.
OCTA: Prioritize NCR Plus 8
The independent OCTA Research Group on Tuesday urged the government to keep prioritizing NCR Plus 8 in the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines amid limited supply.
OCTA made the suggestion in light of the government's plan to deploy the 3,239,400 doses of J&J vaccine to island provinces, including those in the Visayas and Mindanao.
NCR Plus 8 is composed of Metro Manila, Bulacan, Batangas, Rizal, Cavite, Laguna, Pampanga, Metro Cebu and Metro Davao.
"The key to short- or medium-term success is to stick with the plan. We already have a blueprint – the prioritization of NCR Plus 8. We hope that this will not be subject to political influences," said Prof. Ranjit Rye.
"If we stick with that plan, the country will move forward," Rye added.
Focusing on NCR Plus 8 will reduce the number of COVID-19 cases where they are most prevalent, he said.
1M more Sinovac jabs
One million doses of COVID-19 vaccine from China are set to arrive today (Wednesday) at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
Manila International Airport Authority chief information officer Connie Bungag said the shipment of government-procured Sinovac is scheduled to land at the NAIA Terminal 3 around 7:35 a.m. on board Cebu Pacific Air flight 57-671.
The government's third-party cold-chain and logistics partner Pharmaserv Express will receive the vaccines upon arrival at the airport to keep them safe in its facility in Barangay San Roque in Marikina City.
The latest shipment followed the arrival of 37,800 additional doses of Sputnik V vaccine last Saturday aboard Etihad Airways flight from Dubai.