THE Philippines has already reached the 10 million level of inoculating the nation’s population against the deadly Covid-19. The lucky recipient of the milestone jab is an elderly from Valenzuela City.
Nieves Catacutan, 74 years old, received the symbolic 10 millionth jab of the Covid-19 vaccine in the country at the Valenzuela City Astrodome on June 28. She belongs to the A5 priority group.
Officials and members of the National Task Force (NTF) Against Covid-19 and the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) were on hand to grace the ceremonial vaccination.
They lauded the local government’s success in inoculating its residents and other priority groups under its VCVax Covid-19 vaccine deployment plan.
IATF-EID Chairman and Department of Health (DOH) Secretary Francisco Duque III congratulated the City of Valenzuela for the success of its immunization program.
“They have received more or less 250,000 doses and managed to roll out their vaccination program with so much interest shown by the constituents…. If this will be shown again and again by your leadership, we are assured that it will not take long for us to achieve the herd immunity by the end of the year,” Duque said.
Based on DOH records, the national government has already given out a total of 10,065,414 doses as of June 27, of which 7,538,128 were first doses and 2,527,286 were second doses.
Hoping for a “merrier” Christmas this year, NTF Against Covid-19 Chief Implementer Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. said, noting that while the country’s vaccination rollout started slow due to low supply, the inoculation is now picking up its phase.
“This July, we can easily vaccinate 6 million to 8 million [Filipinos],” he said, while citing that they can reach even 10 million a month once the supply becomes steady. “We can raise the bar [to] 2 million per week.”
According to Galvez, the Philippines achieved its first 1 million Covid-19 vaccine mark in 40 days. The country now averages more or less 450,000 jabs daily with a cumulative average of 1.4 million this week.
“We have achieved a significant milestone,” Galvez said, while pointing out that the 10 million milestone is still low against the 70-million target. “But we will make sure that population protection can be achieved in NCR [National Capital Region] before December.”
Per NTF Against Covid-19 Deputy Chief Implementer Secretary Vince Dizon, the total number of vaccinated individuals nationwide hit 5 million from March to May, and another 5 million was added in June.
“It is a race,” he said, describing the pace of the national immunization program. “It is a race against the new variants that are coming out.”
Dizon praised Valenzuela City for consistently reaching its vaccination targets, which contribute a lot to the national government’s vaccination goals. He said: “So symbolic here in Valenzuela, our 10 millionth jab in Valenzuela today. Hoping for another 10 million in the coming weeks ahead.”
As of June 27, Valenzuela administered a total of 169,058 doses of which 134,474 were first doses and 34,583 were full vaccinations or second doses.
Mayor Rexlon Gatchalian made a commitment to reach their quota of vaccinating 467,000 of their local residents to help achieve herd immunity as a national agenda.
“We guarantee you that we can reach our target alongside the national government target of herd immunity by November,” he said.
Confident of this, he offered assistance to the national government by opening their vaccination logistics to southern Bulacan, with the Valenzuela City Astrodome having the capacity to inoculate 2,500 individuals per day.