The Department of Health (DOH) said that more than 12 million doses of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccines have already been administered nationwide.
A total of 12,703,081 Filipinos have already already been vaccinated against the viral illness as of July 8. Of the figure, 3,209,242 individuals completed the two doses, while 9,493,839 received their first dose.
DOH Undersecretary Myrna Cabotaje said a total of 1,165,125 healthcare workers belonging to the A1 priority group have been fully vaccinated, while 1,603,717 got their first jab.
Under the expanded A1 priority group or the outbound overseas Filipino workers and family members of healthcare workers, there were 14,365 who have completed two doses, while 161,959 received their first dose.
For the A2 category, a total of 861,560 senior citizens completed the two-dose regimen, while 2,632,861 received their first dose.
As for those with comorbidities or under A3 priority group, 3,184,933 received their first COVID-19 jab while 1,039,710 have been fully vaccinated.
Under the A4 priority group or economic frontliners, 1,614,481 were given their first dose , while 103,990 completed two doses.
Moreover, for the A5 category or the indigent population, there were 24,492 people who completed two doses, while 295,888 received their first jab.
Vaccine target
The government is targeting to vaccinate at least 90 percent of the elderly population by the end of this month, said Cabotaje. The population of senior citizens in the country is estimated at around 8.2 million, she said.
Also, they are eyeing to vaccinate 90 percent of individuals with comorbidities by the end of August. The total population under this category is more than seven million, she said.
Cabotaje said that most of the country's vaccine supply is distributed to the “NCR-plus 8” areas, consisting of Metro Manila, Rizal, Laguna, Cavite, Batangas, Pampanga, Bulacan, Metro Cebu, and Metro Davao. These areas were previously identified as high-risk for COVID-19 infection.
“So sila ang mataas ang coverage kasi sila din ang nabibigyan ng maraming bakuna (They have the highest coverage because they are also the ones who are given a lot of vaccines),” the Health official said.
The allocation of vaccines was also increased in Baguio, Tuguegarao, Naga, Legaspi, Bacolod, Iloilo City, Dumaguete, Zamboanga City, Cagayan De Oro, and General Santos City due to spike in COVID-19 cases.
The region with the lowest vaccine coverage is the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), said Cabotaje.
“In terms of pinakamababa (lowest coverage), of course BARMM because the population is small. (Also), we have challenges in delivering vaccines to the BARMM,” she said.
“Yun lang pag deliver sa Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi is facing challenges (We are facing challenges in delivering vaccines to Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi). So they have the least vaccines and least coverage,” she said.
“But we want to assure everybody that we are also giving vaccines to the BARMM,” she furthered.