DAVAO CITY (22 September 2021) — The national government is eyeing to open the national vaccination program to the younger population aged 12 to 17 years old by mid-October as the country receives a ‘steadier’ supply of vaccines from various manufacturers.
This proposal was raised by The National Task Force against COVID-19 Chief Implementer and vaccine czar Secretary Carlito G. Galvez, Jr during the President’s Talk to the People public address on Wednesday evening.
“We are proposing to open up the vaccination for children by mid October. Kasi by mid of October, may additional pa tayong 20 million [doses] na darating plus ‘yung 23 million [doses], kayang- kaya na nating i-vaccinate ‘yung 12 million na mga bata na 12 to 17 [years old],” Galvez said.
As of September 22, the Philippines has received a total of 65,970,430 COVID-19 vaccine doses since February.
Of these supplies, 53,070,640 doses have been deployed to various implementing units with 42,659,375 shots already administered nationwide.
According to Galvez, more than 23.75 million doses are still available in the country’s supply inventory, as the country ramps up its vaccination efforts.
He said that this volume is sufficient to sustain the Philippines’ vaccine rollout for at least a month, as the country’s average vaccination rate has now reached 400,000 jabs a day.
“With our daily average rate, we are now experiencing a saturation point for the National Capital Region (NCR) and other cities. Meaning, nagmi-meet na po ‘yung demand at saka ‘yung supply. At kailangan na po nating mag-open ng other sectors,” said Galvez.
“Pero ang recommendation po natin, mauna muna po ‘yung mga may comorbidities at saka po ‘yung mga anak po ng mga healthcare workers,” he added.
As of September 22, the number of fully vaccinated individuals in the country has reached 19,376,832 or 25.12% of the target population.
More than 6.7 million of these fully vaccinated individuals are from the NCR, in which 69.16% of the region’s target population is completely inoculated, while 85.14% has received at least one dose.
Local government units across the country have started to scale up their vaccine rollout, as six regions have already reached the 20% mark in terms of fully-vaccinated individuals.
The Cordillera Administrative Region has completely vaccinated 27.20% of its target population. Region XI (23.28%), CALABARZON (22.80%), Region VII (21.31%), Region III (20.57%), and CARAGA (20.18%) are catching up.
Galvez said that expanding the vaccination program to the younger population by October, and the general public by November will help the country achieve its target vaccination rate of 500,000 to 800,000 jabs daily.
LGUs in Metro Manila have started accepting vaccination registrations for the 12 to 17 years old age bracket in preparation for the rollout.
Addressing hesitancy among elderlies
Meanwhile, Galvez reported that vaccine hesitancy among the country’s elderly population remains high, particularly in far-flung, densely populated areas.
As of September 22, only 4,316,470 or 52.29% of 8,254,531 of senior citizens nationwide are fully vaccinated, while 3,513,060 or 42.56% have received the first dose.
Despite opening the vaccination program to this priority group in April, Galvez noted that the turnout has remained low compared to the NTF’s earlier projections.
He said that the NTF is determined to address this concern by inoculating the younger population, as this move will increase the number of vaccinated individuals per household.
“Ito yung tinatawag nating family approach. So, ang strategy po na nire-recommend ng mga private sector is ‘yung tinatawag na bandwagon effect na pagka pami-pamilya na po ang nagpapabakuna, ang nangyayari po, iyong iba pong mga pamilya na hindi pa nagpapabakuna ay magpapabakuna na rin po,” he explained.
The vaccine czar said that this strategy would encourage the elderly to get the jab, as they see their family members getting vaccinated including children.
“Tamang-tama lang din po ‘yun na pagka mayroon na po tayong sapat na bakuna. At nakikita po namin, Mr. President, on the list — logistics perspective, hindi po tayo mawawalan ng bakuna kasi mayroon tayong more or less mga 30 to 40 million coming,” he said.
“So there is more than enough and there are coming. And kapag mas mataas ‘yung delivery natin and there is enough supply, kaysa doon sa [target] vaccination,” he added.
Galvez said the NTF has received the confirmation delivery and flight details of more than 13.24 million doses from different manufacturers.
The shipments will arrive from September 23 to 29, and will bring to 27,225,060 the total vaccine doses delivered to the country this month.
According to the vaccine czar, this number is expected to increase, as deliveries from the COVAX facility have not yet been included, as well as those from other manufacturers with tentative delivery schedules this September. END
