The government is optimistic that the country may see a drop in coronavirus cases by October as more people would have been vaccinated against the infectious disease.
(OPS / FILE PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN)
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said the government would prioritize the vaccination of those living in areas with high risk of coronavirus transmission to help limit the virus spread.
So far, around 1.3 million Filipinos have received their coronavirus shots under the government's free inoculation campaign. Of this figure, around 1 million health workers got their first dose of the vaccines.
"Doon sa karanasan po ng Israel at saka ng UK, makikita talaga na bababa ang mga kaso kapag nabakunahan na talaga iyong karamihan ng mga mamamayan (Based on the experience of Israel and United Kingdom, it can be seen that cases have decreased when majority of the people are vaccinated)," he said during a televised press briefing Thursday, April 22.
"At ang strategy naman natin ha, gaya nga ng sabi ni Secretary (Carlito) Galvez, archipelago naman tayo, unahin natin iyong mga matataas na lugar gaya ng Metro Manila Plus, so asahan po natin habang dumadami ang bakuna at maraming nababakunahan ay bababa po iyong ating mga nahahawa ng COVID-19 (And the strategy is, like Secretary Galvez said, we are an archipelago. We will prioritize the high-risk areas like Metro Manila Plus so we can expect that while more people are vaccinated, there will be fewer people infected with COVID-19)," he said.
Galvez, in the same press briefing, mentioned the possible reduction in coronavirus cases by October or November due to government's vaccination efforts.
Health workers, seniors, and those with comorbidiites are getting priority in the vaccination line. Essential workers are expected to be next in line around May.
"Once nabakunahan natin majority ng mga affected na tinatawag nating highly urbanized cities like Metro Manila, kapag nakuha natin iyan nakikita natin na siguro by October or November nakikita natin iyong epekto niya talaga, na talagang bababa talaga iyong kaso (Once we've vaccinated majority of the affected in highly urbanized cities like Metro Manila, we can see the impact maybe by October or November, our cases will drop)," Galvez said.
The country's cases of coronavirus have increased at an alarming rate in recent weeks following the detection of new and more highly infectious coronavirus variants. As of April 21, more than 116,000 people are currently battling coronavirus infection.
The country’s total number of cases reached 962,307 with 16,265 deaths.
The government has turned to vaccination to help boost the protection of Filipinos against the coronavirus. A new batch of 500,000 doses of Sinovac vaccines is expected to arrive in the country Thursday. More vaccine supplies, including additional 500,000 Sinovac doses, 495,000 doses from Russia's Gamaleya, 195,00 Pfizer vaccines will be arriving this month.