National Task Force (NTF) against Covid-19 special adviser Dr. Teodoro “Ted” Herbosa, on Friday, May 13, urged the next administration to prioritize and continue the Covid-19 vaccinations in the Philippines.

“Ang advice ko sa mga papalit sa amin ay ituloy pa rin itong Covid-19 vaccinations. Ito ang nagdala sa atin sa sitwasyon natin ngayon Alert Level 1. Nakapaghold tayo ng malawakang national elections because our cases were only 100 plus daily (My advice to the next administration is to continue Covid-19 vaccinations. This is what brought us to our current situation which is Alert Level 1. We were also able to hold extensive national elections because our cases were only 100 plus daily) ,” said Herbosa in the “Laging Handa” public briefing.

The expert is also hoping that the next administration will be able to meet the country’s target to fully vaccinate at least 90 million Filipinos, and at the same time provide booster shots for those who need it.

“Nakita natin ang result ng massive vaccination drive noong nakaraang taon and I do hope na ma-continue ‘yung target namin na 90 million ng population natin ay two doses at meron ding booster ang mga dapat makakuha ng booster. Ito ang pinaka importante sa first 100 days ng next administration (We have seen the result of our massive vaccination drive last year and I hope we will be able to continue it. I hope the next administration will be able to successfully carry out our target to fully vaccinate at least 90 million of our population, and at the same time provide boosters to those who need it. This is the most important in the first 100 days of the next administration),” Herbosa furthered.

Meanwhile, when asked if the country aims to make Covid-19 vaccinations mandatory, Herbosa said “not yet.”

“As of now ay experimental pa rin ang ating mga bakuna. In fact ang statement ni Secretary Duque ay hindi naman tayo kailangan magmadali. Very important to analyze yung data (As of now, our vaccines are still experimental. In fact, Secretary Duque’s statement is that we are not in a rush. It is very important for us to analyze the data),” he explained.

As of May 12, the DOH’s National Covid-19 Vaccination Dashboard showed that a total of 68,581,769 Filipinos have received two doses of Covid-19 vaccines. Of this, only 13,546,978 individuals have so far been boosted.