Herd immunity in the whole country may not be achieved by the end of the year, an official from the University of the Philippines (UP) said Sunday, August 22.

"Ngayon, kung titignan, nasa 11 percent to 12 percent po ang ating mga fully vaccinated... Kung titignan natin 'yung buong Pilipinas, medyo malabo labo pa po 'yung December kasi marami rami pa pong probinsya ang wala pa talaga (Now, if we look, 11 percent to 12 percent are fully vaccinated... If we look at the whole country, December is still unclear because there are still many provinces that do not have it yet)," said Dr. Jomar Rabajante, spokesman of the UP Pandemic Response Team, in an interview with DZBB.

"May ilang local government units na 'yung plano nila ay kaya hanggang sa December pero depende sa supply na dadarating. Kasi ready po sila, kaya ng capacity ng mga vaccination hub, pero ang supply ang kailangan hintayin (There are some LGUs that may be able to achieve it by December, but it still depends on the supply that will come. They are ready, the capacity in vaccination hubs, but they still need to wait for the supply)," he added.

Rabajante warned that COVID-19 cases in the country could possibly reach more than 20,000 daily in the coming days.

He noted that the country's positivity rate which is now at 25 percent is "alarming" and that it is possible to last in the next few months.

The occupancy rates in hospitals across the country and Metro Manila is now also more than 70 percent, he stressed.

Rabajante, meanwhile, emphasized that vaccination should continue, especially in highly urbanized cities, to prevent hospitals from getting overwhelmed.

"Hindi po ganon kadali. Medyo mahirap pa yung 100 percent ang ating mababakunahan dahil ang ating bakuna hindi pa po pwede sa ating kabataan (It is not that easy. It is still quite difficult for us to be vaccinated 100 percent because our vaccine is not yet allowed for the teenagers)," he added.

Rabajante also advised the public to get vaccinated as it is effective in preventing hospitalization and deaths of patients infected with the deadly virus.

On Saturday, August 21, the country recorded 16,694 new COVID-19 cases. Of which, 15,805 have already recovered, while 398 have died.