BY GERARD NAVAL and JOCELYN MONTEMAYOR
VACCINATION numbers rose as soon as Metro Manila was placed under the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) restriction level, with about 1.8 million individuals inoculated against COVID-19 since August 6, the Department of Health said yesterday.
The vaccination numbers went up by about 17,000 daily compared to the pre-ECQ period, Health Undersecretary Myrna Cabotaje said in a briefing.
“The seven-day average pre-ECQ is at 151,924 jabs. But during the ECQ, it was at 168,063,” she added.
The ECQ ends today. Malacañang is expected to announce new quarantine levels today.
Cabotaje said more persons decided to get vaccinated because of fear of the highly transmissible Delta variant of COVID-19, which has spread to more than 100 countries since it was first detected in India in October last year.
“Vaccine acceptance improved immensely as many were scared of the Delta variant and opted to get inoculated,” said Cabotaje.
She said the ECQ also gave people have more time to get vaccinated.
“People need not postpone their vaccination schedules because of their jobs. They do not really need to go anywhere else,” she said.
She said it also helped that Metro Manila local government units “streamlined” their vaccination processes programs in order to accommodate more people.
Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire previously said increasing immunization coverage is one of the purposes of the ECQ imposition in the NCR.
The National Task Force (NTF) against COVID-19 said 42.9 percent of Metro Manilans who are “eligible” for the vaccine, or about 10 million individuals, are fully vaccinated.
NTF chief and vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. said in a briefing Wednesday night after the arrival of 365,040 doses of procured Pfizer vaccines, also said 62 to 63 percent of the targeted persons have received their first dose.
NTF deputy chief Vince Dizon yesterday expressed confidence government will meet its target of vaccinating 50 percent of the eligible population in the Metro Manila (National Capital Region) this month.
In a briefing, he said more than three million of the adult population in Metro Manila or around 41 percent are now fully vaccinated in NCR as of August 18.
The government targets to deploy six million vaccine doses to the NCR to fully vaccinate up to 50 percent of its population this month.
Galvez said part of the Pfizer vaccines delivered on Wednesday night will go to Metro Manila, Cebu, Davao.
Yesterday, three million doses of vaccines made by China’s Sinovac arrived. The country bought 26 million doses from Sinovac; 24 million doses have been delivered.
The country is expecting the delivery today of 582,500 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine procured by the private sector on Friday.
The country has so far received at least 45.94 million doses of procured and donated vaccines from different manufacturers.
Galvez said the country is negotiating with Sinovac and the other manufacturer for possible additional vaccine supplies as the country prepares for the vaccination of the rest of the population including the minors.
He said delivery of the bulk of Western vaccines Pfizer and Moderna is expected starting this month.
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said the country has administered 29.127 million doses of vaccines nationwide as of August 18, with 12.877 million individuals fully vaccinated or have received the second dose.
The government targets to vaccinate 50 million to 70 million Filipinos this year.
ore people to get the life-saving vaccines.
As of Tuesday, 29.1 million vaccine doses have been administered, Cabotaje said.
BOOSTER SHOTS
Cabotaje said booster shots may be provided to healthcare workers (HCWs) and immunocompromised individuals by next year.
She said HCWs are being considered based for the additional shots because they are “the most at risk” as they are always exposed to COVID-19.
As for the immunocompromised, Cabotaje said they are in constant need for aid in developing immunity to diseases.
“The immunocompromised are not able to mount an adequate level of antibody,” said Cabotaje.
Among issues still under deliberation, she said, is which type of vaccine should be given as well as the time frame.
“How should we define booster shots? Are they third doses of the same vaccine? Should we boost everybody? Will it be another vaccine boosted by another vaccine? In the next month or two, the all-experts group can be able to give us their final recommendations,” said Cabotaje.
However, for the moment, she said the government is not yet recommending booster shots for all vaccinees.
VACCINE RECORDS
Information Undersecretary Manny Caintic said the government is targeting the issuance of digital COVID-19 vaccination certificates by early September.
Caintic, during the “Laging Handa” public briefing, said the Department of Information and Communications Technology will open an online portal this September where the public can input their inoculation details. If the information matches that in the government’s database, a vaccination certificate will be immediately released.
He said representatives of local governments units (LGUs) are now on the third week of training on how to implement the vaccine certificate system and how to help their constituents who might have questions or encounter problems about the issuance of certificates.
He said the system is ready and has been “integrated” with the World Health Organization.
He said vaccine certificates to be issued are recognized by the WHO.
He also assured the public that the system is data protected to ensure everyone’s privacy and will be managed by the DICT and Department of Health.