The government is still “far” from reaching its target of vaccinating at least 70 percent of the country’s total population against COVID-19, an official of the Department of Health (DOH) said on Sunday, June 13.
“As of now, yung mga fully vaccinated nasa two percent palang ng population natin, so medyo malayo-layo pa ho tayo. Ang target po natin before the end of the year ay 50 to 70 percent of the population (As of now, those who are fully vaccinated only represent two percent of our population, so we are still a bit far away. Our target before the end of the year is 50 to 70 percent of the population),” said DOH Undersecretary Leopoldo Vega in a radio interview on Sunday.
As of June 8, the number of fully vaccinated individuals in the Philippines has stood at 1,681,722. Meanwhile, a total of 4,632,826 people have received their first dose.
The country’s population is at 109.48 million, according to the Commission on Population and Development (POPCOM).
The Health official said that the country’s vaccine supply is still limited.
Vega, meanwhile, expressed optimism that the government’s target is still achievable as more doses of COVID-19 vaccine are expected to arrive in the Philippines in the coming months. To achieve its target, the government needs to vaccinate at least 500,000 people per day, he added.
The average daily administered vaccine doses nationwide is at 112,612, according to the data of the National Task Force Against COVID-19.
“Pag sapat ang supply----pagdating ng July and August baka aabot na tayo to more than 500,000 na vaccination per day, aabot talaga tayo sa population protection or herd immunity before the end of the year (If our supply is already enough ---- in July and August, we may reach more than 500,000 vaccinations per day, then we will actually reach population protection or herd immunity before the end of the year),” he said.