More than 100,000 personnel of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) have already been fully vaccinated against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said on Monday night, Oct. 11.
Lorenzana said that 105,050 military personnel have already received their complete vaccine doses which represent 74 percent of the AFP's total strength.
"Mayroon pa po tayong natitirang mga 40,000 na hindi pa tapos. Patuloy po silang binabakunahan ngayon (We still have 40,000 who haven't completed . We are currently inoculating them)," he said during the pre-recorded public address of President Duterte.
The AFP is one of the first government agencies that was prioritized in the national vaccination program as they were also in the frontlines of the fight to contain the pandemic.
Col. Fatima Claire Navarro, AFP Surgeon General, had said last month that the AFP was eyeing to fully vaccinate 93 to 96 percent of its entire personnel from October to November.
As more vaccines are allocated to the military, she expressed optimism that 100 percent of the AFP's workforce will be fully vaccinated by the end of the year.
When the inoculation program began in March this year, the AFP ordered its 145,000-strong personnel to have themselves vaccinated in support to the national government's COVID-19 pandemic response.
Military personnel were listed under the A4 priority group in the vaccination program as they are considered as "frontline personnel in essential sectors," only behind medical frontliners (A1), senior citizens (A2), and persons with co-morbidities (A3).