Metro Manila may enjoy herd immunity in the coming Christmas season as 87.5 percent of the region's total population are expected to complete their jab in December.
Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) chairman Benhur Abalos bared the news in a televised Cabinet briefing aired Saturday, saying that by Dec. 9, more than the 70 percent standard herd immunity of the region's qualified population have already received their two doses of the vaccine.
As of Sep. 9, 5,649, 928 residents or 57.65 percent of Metro Manila's total population are already completely vaccinated.
"But in one month... dahil po yung first dose ay magkaka-second dose, ang tantsa namin, higit kumulang 78 percent (Because those who already got their first dose would get the second one, we estimate that 78 percent of them will get vaccinated). Ito po yung mga nagpabakuna na ng (They are the ones who are vaccinated with) Gamaleya, Pfizer, Moderna, Sinopharm at Jannsen," Abalos said.
"At of course yung mga naiwan na Astra (the remaining AstraZeneca recipients), which is 3 months (the gap for second dose), siguro by December 9 ay 87.5 na noong total population ay nabakunahan na (Perhaps by December 9, 87.5 percent of our total population are already vaccinated)," he added.
Abalos also asked Duterte to look into the possibility of allowing fully-vaccinated individuals in Metro Manila to engage into various economic activities, although he believed that "balancing" life and economy amid COVID-19 pandemic is difficult to do.