3.1 million Filipinos vaccinated vs COVID-19 since July

MANILA, Philippines — More than three million people have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 in the past six months, Malacañang said yesterday, as the government continues to undertake measures aimed at mitigating the effects of the pandemic.

Citing a report from the Department of Health (DOH), Press Undersecretary Cheloy Garafil said 3,100,258 more individuals have been jabbed against COVID-19 since July, raising the number of fully vaccinated Filipinos to 73,713,573.

A total of 6,068,268 individuals got their first booster shot while 2,843,537 received their second booster dose in the past six months, Garafil said in a statement.

The number of Filipinos who have received their first booster shot has risen to 21,047,21 while those who have gotten their second booster dose have reached 3,691,412.

The government has urged the public to avail of COVID-19 vaccines and booster shots, saying they are necessary for reopening the economy.

Earlier this year, President Marcos said there is no need to make booster jabs mandatory but noted that vaccines have been effective in preventing severe COVID-19 cases.

Garafil said the DOH has also provided health emergency allowance to 1,624,045 health care workers and special risk allowance to 73,711 workers. The agency has also disbursed some P19.65 billion for health care workers’ benefits, including active hazard pay, and has launched international scholarship programs for 50 public health professionals.

The DOH also served 1,430,286 additional patients and provided assistance amounting to P16.6 billion this year.

The Medical Assistance to Indigent Patients program, meanwhile, provided aid to 1,878,650 patients as of November.

The health department has also given a total of P468.59 million to regions for their disaster-risk reduction and health management activities and constructed 40 more functional specialty centers.

It has also created Malasakit program office units in 17 centers for health development and launched new benefits under the Philippine Health Insurance Corp., including outpatient drug benefits and adjusted all case rates. Four more Malasakit centers were established this year, raising the number of the one-stop shop medical assistance centers to 153.