The country is expected to receive 22.7 million doses of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccines this month, an official of the Department of Health (DOH) said on Tuesday, August 3.

DOH Undersecretary Myrna Cabotaje said the vaccines were secured through government or private sector procurement and donations.

The vaccine brands that are expected to be delivered this month include AstraZeneca, Moderna, Sinovac, and Pfizer-BioNTech.

The country has so far received a total of 33,860,700 vaccine doses from February to July.

As of August 2, there are 11,840,504 people who are partially vaccinated, while 9,369,625 individuals are fully vaccinated.

Cabotaje said that the government is targeting to fully vaccinate 15 million Filipinos by the end of August as well as to sustain the average daily vaccination of 600,000 to 700,000. She, however, noted that this will still depend on the country’s vaccination supply.

‘Herd immunity’

Cabotaje said that they are looking to raise the country’s herd immunity target to 80 percent amid the threat of the highly contagious Delta variant of coronavirus.

Currently, the country is administering vaccines to healthcare workers, outbound overseas Filipino workers, family members of healthcare workers, senior citizens, individuals with comorbidities, frontline personnel in essential sectors, and poor population.

The inoculation of the general public is expected to happen in September or October, said Cabotaje.

“Our initial target was 70 percent...But with the Delta variant, there is a looming proposal na kailangan taasan pa yung ating vaccination coverage to 80 percent, so that will mean--- include na natin yung below 18 years old (Our initial target was 70 percent ... But with the Delta variant, there is a looming proposal that we need to increase the vaccination coverage to 80 percent, so that will mean --- we might include those below 18 years old),” said Cabotaje.

However, Cabotaje said that they should first come up with guidelines for the vaccination of those below 18 years old.

“Our experts are not discounting the fact that we might need to give (a vaccine to) children below 18 (years old)....especially those with comorbidities,” she said.

“If 80 (percent), we will have to wait for our policies on the vaccination for below 18 years old,” she added.

Cabotaje said that the government is also considering the country’s vaccine supply.

“Pinag-aaralan pa iyan (That is still being studied). We are recognizing the fact that we really need to increase our targets but we will need to look at our vaccine supply,” she said.

Last July 29, members of the country’s Vaccine Experts Panel of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) said there is a need to increase the number of people to be vaccinated this year amid the threat of the Delta variant.

Related story: 'Aim higher': Experts suggest raising vaccination target amid Delta variant threat