5 million jabbed so far in first 2 days of COVID-19 vaccination drive

An elderly receives a BioNtech-Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at a coliseum in Makati City, suburban Manila on November 29, 2021, as the Southeast Asian nation launched a three-day vaccination drive targeting nine million people as young as 12 in an effort to accelerate the roll-out of jabs, amidst the threat of heavily mutated coronavirus variant Omicron.
AFP/Ted Aljibe

MANILA, Philippines — Over five million COVID-19 vaccine doses were administered in the first two days of the government’s national immunization drive, the Department of Health said Wednesday.

According to Health Undersecretary Myrna Cabotaje, a total of 5,000,353 individuals have been so far immunized against COVID-19 in the first two days of the three-day campaign.

Broken down, 2.7 million doses were given on November 29 and 2.29 million jabs were administered on November 30, a holiday. Cabotaje said the figure for November 30 is expected to increase as more vaccinators submit data.

The daily outputs fell short of the government’s goal of administering three million shots per day.

“We are still hopeful that we will meet the nine million target. But just in case we will be unable to reach it, this record is already high,” said Cabotaje, who also heads the National Vaccination Operations Center.

The health official asked local government units to accommodate all vaccine recipients, including walk-ins, after there were reports that some LGUs closed their vaccination centers early.

As of November 30, over 36.36 million Filipinos have completed the recommended doses, while more than 49.74 individuals million have received partial protection against COVID-19.

The government is targeting to fully vaccinate 54 million people by yearend.

The Philippines remained the worst place to be during the pandemic, according to Bloomberg’s Covid Resilience Ranking. Bloomberg noted the country’s inoculation rate —73.2 doses administered per 100 people—is a “key barrier to improving” its score.

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