President Duterte on Wednesday, Nov. 3, trumpeted that the Philippines has exceeded its target of administering 55 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines in October.
“Dito naman sa (Here with the) vaccine, as of today, we have already administered 59.5 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines in which 32 million were given as first dose while 27 million were given as second dose,” he said during a pre-recorded public address aired on Wednesday morning.
This puts the country “well on our way to achieving the target of at least of 35 percent by the end of the year".
Originally, the plan was for the country to achieve herd immunity, or the vaccination of more than 70 percent of the 110 million population, by December.
Problems in vaccine supplies and distribution, however, pushed the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases to recalibrate the plan and instead aim for “population protection,” or the vaccination of more than 55 million Filipinos, by the end of the year.
READ: Hits and misses: PH’s COVID-19 vaccination program in October
Duterte earlier said that Filipinos can expect a “better Christmas” this 2021.
The success of the vaccination drive last month was “primarily because the supply came in droves", he said.
“Ibig sabihin sige dating ang mga— sa awa ng Diyos—‘yung mga donations pati yung binili natin (It means that—in God’s mercy—the donations arrived, including the ones) procured by the government,” Duterte stated.
The Chief Executive also thanked the “generous vaccine donations” from the United States, China, Japan, South Korean, and Germany, among others.
Just recently, the Philippines received 2.7 million doses of Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine doses from Russia.
READ: BOC-NAIA clears release of 2.7M doses of Sputnik vaccines
“I thank Russia, particularly (President) Vladimir Putin, for ensuring we received these doses in a timely manner,” the President said.
Nearly 109 million doses have arrived in the country, both from government procurement and donations.
Duterte said “It is now our job to bring these doses (to) the arms of every Filipino.”
On Tuesday, Nov. 2, the country logged 2,303 new cases, the lowest since March 3 this year. The 6.8 percent positivity rate is also the lowest since Feb. 24.