The government is still sticking to its goal of vaccinating 70 percent of the country's population against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), the Department of Health (DOH) said on Friday, May 28.

The DOH made the clarification amid the use of terms "herd immunity" and "population protection."

"Kailangan maintindihan ng ating mga kababayan hindi po natin tinatanggal yung overall goal natin that we can reach 70 percent of our population or even higher, so we can have herd immunity (Our citizens need to understand that we are not changing our overall goal---that we can reach 70 percent of our population or even higher, so we can have herd immunity)," said DOH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire in an online press briefing.

“Itong 70 percent natin na goal ay nandyan ho iyan, hindi ho iyan matatanggal dahil lahat naman po ng bansa sa buong mundo, iyan ang goal nila: mabakunahan ang kanilang buong populasyon, kung maaari. Hindi mababawasan yung ating mga allocations, hindi mababawasan yung ating mga oorderin, yun pa rin po yung ating gagawin (Our goal of vaccinating 70 percent (of population) stays, it cannot be changed because all countries in the world, that is their goal: to vaccinate their entire population, if possible. Our allocations and orders will not be reduced, that is still what we will do),” she added.

Vergeire explained that population protection, which is their “major objective right now for the short term,” means “lessening” the number of severe infections, hospitalizations, as well as deaths--- by doing vaccination. This is also in accordance with the goal of achieving herd immunity.

The World Health Organization (WHO) defined herd immunity as “the indirect protection from an infectious disease that happens when a population is immune either through vaccination or immunity developed through previous infection.”

“Ibig sabihin kailangan iprioritize natin talaga yung vulnerable ng ating lipunan at iyan po ang ating senior citizens, those with comorbidities, at healthcare workers natin (It means we really need to prioritize the vulnerable people in our society and that is our senior citizens, those with comorbidities, and our healthcare workers),” she said.

“Ngayon pag sumunod na po yung ibang sektor tulad ng A4, A5, at B sector--- iyan po yung ating pangalawa na mga priorities na babakunahan natin para ma reach yung proteksyon ng populasyon na gusto natin by the end of the year (The next sectors such as the A4, A5, and B sectors will then follow --- these are our second priorities that we will vaccinate to reach the population protection we want by the end of the year),” she added.