PASIG CITY (28 July 2021) — The Philippines recorded its highest daily vaccination throughput on Tuesday, July 27, with 659,029 jabs administered nationwide. This is the highest vaccination output registered since the national vaccination program was rolled out in March.
“We are very happy that we were able to achieve milestone after milestone within just a few weeks apart. This shows that we have the capacity and capability to achieve our 500,000 inoculation per day target as long as there’s a steady supply of vaccines arriving in the country,” said Secretary Carlito Galvez, Jr, National Task Force (NTF) against COVID 19 chief implementer and vaccine czar.
NTF earlier announced that the government is eyeing to administer 500,000 doses a day this quarter and 750,000 doses daily in the fourth quarter in order to ensure the immunization of 77,746,906 Filipinos or 70% of the country’s population by year end.
Just last July 22, the Philippines nearly hit its target of half a million doses administered in a day with 472,356 jabs recorded.
“We applaud our implementing units from the local government and the private sector for remaining committed to carrying out their vaccination rollout as quickly and efficiently as possible, and ultimately, protecting as many people as we can against the disease,” Galvez said.
“We thank our healthcare workers and medical frontliners for continuously working hard to serve the public and joining us in this universal advocacy of saving lives,” he added.
Galvez noted that the latest milestone in the vaccine program is both inspiring and crucial, as the country faces the threat of the COVID-19 Delta variant.
As of July 27, a total of 18,174,405 vaccine doses have been administered, 11.3 million of which were given as the first dose. Meanwhile, more than 6.8 million individuals are now fully vaccinated.
An upward trend in the vaccination output for senior citizens (A2) and persons with comorbidities (A3) has been recorded in the past weeks with the rollout of the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccines to these sectors.
Fully vaccinated individuals under the A2 and A3 group currently stand at 1,863,955 and 2,382,461, respectively.
Data from the National Vaccine Operations Center also showed that on July 27 the number of second doses being inoculated has more than doubled compared to the first dose. Those who got their first dose is 131,686 while those who got their second doses is 527,343.
“Our objective is to narrow down the gap between the first and second doses,” Galvez emphasized.
“This is a very good precedent in our vaccine rollout, especially now that our vaccine supply inventory continues to increase,” Galvez said.
“This July alone, we have already received close to 14 million doses and more are still expected to arrive in the remaining days of the month,” he added.
As of July 28, the Philippines has received a total of 31,360,700 COVID-19 vaccine doses from six different manufacturers – AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Sinovac, Gamaleya (Sputnik V), Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson.
More than 27 million doses have now been deployed to various implementing units across the country.
According to Galvez, another 2.5 million doses of national government-procured Sinovac vaccines, and about 415,000 doses of Astrazeneca vaccines donated by the UK government will be added to the country’s supply inventory this week.
Sustaining the vaccination rate
Despite the monsoon season and inclement weather in different parts of the country, the vaccine czar remains optimistic that the country will be able to sustain the daily vaccination output in the next weeks.
“At this point where many LGUs are affected by the typhoon, we are also seeing their creativity and eagerness to ensure that the vaccine rollout will remain unhampered for their respective localities,” Galvez noted.
“We trust the LGUs’ capability to manage and balance the ongoing immunization program while ensuring the safety and wellbeing of their constituents,” he said.
“But we assure them that the national government is here in case they need assistance. We can always find ways and solutions to better serve the public despite any circumstances,” Galvez added.
He said the NTF is determined to pursue the daily vaccination throughput of at least 500,000 jabs until the end of August to early September as vaccine supplies arrive in bulk and more Filipinos are now willing to get vaccinated.
For his part, NTF COVID-19 deputy chief implementer Secretary Vince Dizon said the vaccine uptake is increasing in the country.
” Vaccine confidence among the public has risen. Dahan-dahan na pong naniniwala ang mga tao sa mga bakuna para protektahan ang kanilang sarili pati na ng kanilang mahal sa buhay,” he said, adding that “some adjustments may be made in the vaccination process especially during the rainy season.”
According to Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez, the country is expecting around 65 million doses from July to September and another 55 million doses by the fourth quarter.
With the arrival of the vaccine doses procured by the private sector, many private firms have set up their vaccination sites for the inoculation of their staff and employees.
These sites complement the existing vaccination centers of local government units as well as vaccination hubs previously opened in malls, theaters, and convention facilities.
“We thank the vaccinators and the members of the national and regional vaccination operations centers across the country, the LGUS, private sector, and all the stakeholders in this vaccination program. We are looking forward to breach the750, 000 daily jabs by next quarter,” Galvez said.
Galvez also reminded that there is a “need for the people to complete their second dose.”
“High efficacy is meaningless if you will not complete your vaccination. Vaccination is not complete without the second dose,” he urged.
“We are praying for the continued arrival of vaccines in the country for us to sustain the high number of people being inoculated daily. We are on track in our target to pursue a better Christmas this year and hasten our exit from this pandemic,” Galvez said. END
