MANILA, Philippines — Nearly three months since the start of the inoculation campaign, over 1 million individuals have been vaccinated against COVID-19 in the Philippines, the Department of Health reported Wednesday.
A total of 1,029,061 people have completed the two-dose regimen against COVID-19 as of May 25, Health Undersecretary Myrna Cabotaje said in a briefing. The figure represents only 0.94% of the country’s 110 million population.
Broken down, 581,797 healthcare workers, 195,952 senior citizens, 250,777 persons with comorbities, and 535 workers in essential sectors have been fully vaccinated.
Meanwhile, 3,466,314 individuals, or 3.15% of the population, have received the first of two doses.
4.4 million doses administered
Since the start of the vaccination program in March, 4,495,375 doses have been administered in 1,381 inoculation sites across the country.
Cabotaje, who chairs the National Vaccination Operations Center, said the country was able to reach an average of 170,000 inoculations a week as the country received more vaccine supplies.
The government’s vaccination strategy is to prioritize the so-called “NCR Plus 8” areas, which include outbreak epicenter Metro Manila, Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, Rizal, Pampanga and Batangas, as well as Metro Davao and Metro Cebu to achieve herd immunity in these areas by November.
Cabotaje said the vaccination of economic frontliners may begin by early June.
The country’s Food and Drug Administration has granted emergency use authorizations to seven COVID-19 vaccine makers. But so far, only four brands are being used in the government’s vaccination efforts: Sinovac Biotech, AstraZeneca, Gamaleya Research Institute and Pfizer-BioNTech.
Months into the rollout, only 32% of adult Filipinos are inclined to get vaccinated against COVID-19, a Social Weather Stations survey suggested. A separate poll found that the jabs developed by Sinovac and Pfizer were the preferred brands of Filipinos.