'Herd immunity' achieved in targeted PH areas, NTF adviser says
The National Task Force (NTF) against coronavirus disease (COVID-19), on Friday, Dec. 10, said that the National Capital Region (NCR) and eight key cities and provinces known as the NCR Plus eight have achieved herd immunity.

The NCR Plus eight comprises NCR, Bulacan, Pampanga, Batangas, Cavite, Laguna, Rizal, Cebu City, and Davao City.
“Ang herd immunity actually ay na-attain na natin sa specific areas na tinarget natin ‘yung focus areas natin – ‘yung NCR Plus eight (We have attained herd immunity in specific areas we have targeted or focused on – the NCR Plus eight),” said NTF adviser Dr. Ted Herbosa during the Laging Handa public briefing.
Herbosa said that the vaccination rate in NCR alone has surpassed 90 percent for fully inoculated individuals. Meanwhile, the average rate for those who have received a single dose of vaccine against COVID-19 in the region is now over 100 percent.
“Naabot natin ‘yung tinatawag nating herd immunity threshold , at kapag sinubaybayan mo ‘yung numero ng kaso... hindi naman tumataas talaga ang kaso ng COVID (We have reached the herd immunity threshold , and if we track the number of cases... we will see that the COVID infections are not increasing),” he added.
Herbosa pointed out that this indicates that said areas have reached herd immunity, adding that it attained the ‘targeted number’ of vaccinations which is raised from 70 to 90 percent.
However, the national average for fully vaccinated individuals is only 42 percent, while the average rate for those who have received a single dose is 74 percent.
To inoculate an additional number of seven million Filipinos and eventually achieve herd immunity, the country will conduct another "Bayanihan, Bakunahan" from Wednesday, Dec. 15 to Friday, Dec. 17, 2021. (Charie Mae F. Abarca)