MORE PINOYS PROTECTED. A man gets his first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine in this undated photo. As of May 25, a total of 4,495,375 Filipinos have received at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, 1,029,061 of them now fully protected. (PNA photo by Avito Dalan)
MANILA – A total of 4,495,375 Filipinos have received at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, 1,029,061 of them now fully protected, a health official said Wednesday.
In a televised public briefing, Health Undersecretary and National Vaccination Operations chairperson Myrna Cabotaje said as of May 25, about 3,466,314 individuals have received their first dose.
Among those who have been fully vaccinated, about 581,797 are health services front-liners, 195,952 are senior citizens, 250,777 are individuals with comorbidity, and 535 are essential sector front-liners.
“Most of those we’ve vaccinated, those in priority group A1, we’re already at 85 percent, first dose who are master-listed, second are the senior citizens at 12 percent only so we need to promote the A2 and A3 (groups),” Cabotaje said.
The highest number of jabs administered on a single day was 238,888 on May 21 due to the increased supply of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine, she said.
“Tinatantiyang first week of June ang umpisa ng A4 (The vaccination of A4 may start on the first week of June), symbolic was May 1st for our OFWs and labor force who belong to the A4. But we’ll just do this in what we call NCR Plus 8, so that’s NCR, Bulacan, Cavite, Pampanga, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, [Metro] Cebu and [Metro] Davao only, while the other regions continue with A1 to A3,” she added.
During the surge in March and April, the National Capital Region and the provinces of Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna and Rizal collectively known as NCR Plus, registered the highest number of coronavirus cases. The cases gradually declined, prompting government officials to ease movement restrictions.
Cabotaje said sectoral prioritization is not exclusive in the Philippines as some countries like the United States and Israel put on the top list their healthcare workers, senior citizens and persons with comorbidities. (PNA)
