The government is aiming to fully vaccinate at least seven million Filipinos during the second round of the national vaccination drive on Dec. 15 to 17.
DOH Secretary Francisco Duque III said that this goal will help the government to achieve its target of fully vaccinating 54 million individuals by the end of 2021.
“Well, ang tina-target natin dito mga seven million para sa second dose para lang maabot iyong ating pinupuntiryang 54 million by the end of the year na nabigyan ng kumpletong bakuna (Well, we're targeting about seven million people for the second dose for us to reach our target of 54 million by the end of the year who have been given the complete doses),” he said on Tuesday, Dec. 7.
Based on the country's national COVID-19 vaccination dashboard, a total of 38,688,023 individuals were already fully vaccinated since the government's vaccination program started last March.
COVID-19 vaccination for children ages 5 to 11
Duque said that COVID-19 vaccination of children five to 11 years old is still not allowed in the country.
“Well sa ngayon kasi ang policy natin, nasa 12 to 17 pediatric age group pa lamang. Pero hindi na siguro magtatagal eh iyong mga mas bata maba-vaccinate din, ito yung mga five to 11 years of age (Well for now, our policy is only for the 12 to 17 pediatric age group. But maybe it won't be long before those younger ones---five to 11 years of age--- will also be vaccinated),” he said.
The Health chief encouraged all eligible Filipinos to get vaccinated immediately in order to achieve the cocoon effect which will protect this age group against COVID-19.
“In other words, kung lahat naman sa pamilya ay bakunado na except for the children, malamang iyong bata hindi na mahahawa dahil lahat ng mga kasama niya ay bakunado na (In other words, if everyone in the family is vaccinated except for these children, it is likely that they will not be infected because all those with them have been vaccinated already),” said Duque.
Duque also reminded parents to ensure that their children will also follow the health protocols when outside of their homes.