As it accommodates recipients from other regions, the National Capital Region (NCR) has fully vaccinated more than 100 percent of its target population which gives them sufficient protection against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. revealed Monday night, Dec. 13.
As of Dec. 12, Galvez said that the NCR has fully vaccinated 10,011,971 individuals which is 102.41 percent of its target eligible population of 9,776,356.
Meanwhile, 10,892,408 individuals (111.42 percent) have also received their first dose in NCR which, if they are able to fully vaccinate, could further bring their target to greater heights.
“There is no other city in the world with a 102-percent rate for fully vaccinated elderly population. I think Metro Manila is the only one with that kind of capability. We’ve seen how it broke the hesitancy,” Galvez said partly in Filipino during the “Talk to the People” public address of President Duterte.
But such is not the case for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
To explain, target population is different from total population. In the context of COVID-19 vaccination, the Department of Health (DOH) said that target population refers to 70 percent of the total population of a particular area.
To achieve herd immunity, the DOH said a certain area needs to fully vaccinate 70 percent of its total population or equivalent to its target population. With the emergence of new variants, the DOH even raised the target to 90 percent.
BARMM was at the bottom of the government’s vaccination list as it fully vaccinated only 411,092 out of its 2,989,135 target population (13.75 percent) as of Dec. 12.
Several factors could possibly explain the huge gap between the two regions including the lack of adequate supplies or cold-chain facilities in the south, and vaccine hesitancy among their residents.
So far, NCR is the only region which has fully vaccinated 100 percent of its target population, which could translate to herd immunity for the region, if the definition of DOH is to be based.
Only one region has fully vaccinated at least 60 percent of its target population, Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), while five regions have fully vaccinated at least 50 percent of its target population namely Central Luzon (Region 3), Calabarzon (Region 4A), Ilocos Region (Region 1), Cagayan Valley (Region 2), and Davao Region (Region 11).
Nine regions have fully vaccinated at least 30 to 40 percent of its target population: Northern Mindanao (Region 10), Western Visayas (Region 6), Eastern Visayas (Region 8), Central Visayas (Region 7), Caraga (Region 13), Mimaropa (Region 4B), Zamboanga Peninsula (Region 9), Bicol (Region 5), and Soccsksargen (Region 12).