National Task Force Against Covid-19 head Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. (PNA file photo)
MANILA – As vaccine supply starts to stabilize, the government has entertained the possibility of the entire adult population already vaccinated against Covid-19 by August.
National Task Force (NTF) Against Covid-19 Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. said the scenario is not a mere "wishful thinking".
"By August, lahat po ng seven vaccine manufacturers po natin baka maka-deliver, so more or less 15 to 20 million po iyong idi-deliver po by August. Hindi po iyon wishful thinking, dahil kasi po nag-simulate na po tayo at saka nakikita po natin talaga iyong deliveries (By August, we expect that all seven vaccine manufacturers would be able to deliver more or less 15 to 20 million by August. That is not wishful thinking, since we have done simulations and we expect more deliveries)," Galvez said at the Palace press briefing on Tuesday.
The seven vaccine sources are AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Moderna, Sinovac, Gamaleya, Novavax, and the COVAX facility.
What the government worries about more is vaccine hesitancy, which is at about 49 percent.
"Ang nakakatakot iyong tinatawag natin na marami tayong volumes pero halos nasa storage at hindi natin nagagamit (The scary part is when we have volumes of vaccines but they are mostly just stored and would remain unused)," Galvez said.
The government is gearing up for the vaccination of next priority groups A4 (economic front-liners/government workforce) and A5 (indigent population) between June and July.
"Nakita natin 49 percent ng ating vaccination hesitancy and we have to open up iyong mga gustong magpa-vaccine para magkaroon tayo ng bandwagon (We see that the vaccine hesitancy is at 49 percent and we have to open the vaccination for those who are willing to get shots so that they can join the bandwagon)," he said. "Para at least pagdating ng September and October, marami pa tayong maba-vaccinate during those times (So we can vaccinate more individuals in September and October)."
The government's overall goal is to provide protection to at least 70 percent of the mass population within the year. (PNA)
