Galvez: Vaccination rate above 70% in most regions
MANILA, Philippines — Most regions in the Philippines have already vaccinated 70% of their target populations against COVID-19 but more has to be done to address vaccine hesitancy in some areas, the chief implementer of the government's pandemic response said.
Legal COVID-19 vaccinations in the Philippins began on March 1, 2021.
During President Rodrigo Duterte's public address last Monday, National Task Force Against COVID-19 chief implementer Carlito Galvez, Jr. said ten regions have vaccinated more than 70% of their population, five of them posting a vaccination coverage that exceeded 80 percent.
They are Metro Manila (114.1%), Ilocos region (86.4%), Cagayan Valley (83.58%), Central Luzon 83.4%), Cordillera Administrative Region(82.51%), CALABARZON (79.77%), Western Visayas (79.09%), Davao region (74.72%), Northern Mindanao (74.68%) and Zamboanga Peninsula (70.83%).
Six regions have fully vaccinated majority of their population namely Bicol (69.96%), Eastern Visayas (69.93%), Caraga (69.75%), MIMAROPA (68.56%), Central Visayas (64.53%) and Soccsksargen (61.25%).
The Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) is lagging behind, with only 28.02% of its population fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Galvez attributed the low vaccination coverage to vaccine hesitancy among some Muslims.
"Tomorrow (Feb. 15), Mr. President, with your guidance, I will go to Zamboanga to inoculate children and we will go to Basilan to encourage our Muslim brothers to get vaccinated because the hesitation there is very high," Galvez said, adding that the percentage of fully-vaccinated persons in BARMM is not increasing.
BARMM residents assured: COVID-19 vaccines are halal
Challenges
As of Feb. 14, about 61.63 million Filipinos have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 while 61.23 million have received their first dose. About 9.16 million individuals have availed of their booster shot.
Galvez admitted that the number of persons who received their booster doses remains low.
"Our countrymen seem to be confident with two doses. But many experts are saying we need boosters because after three (or) four months, the efficacy of the vaccines will wane," he said.
Galvez said a total of 149,612 children aged five to 11 years old have received at least one dose, 5,500 of them with comorbidities. About 9.3 million minors aged 12 to 17 years old have availed of their first vaccine dose while 8.07 million others have received their second shot.
COVID-19 response adviser Vince Dizon admitted that it becomes more difficult to find unvaccinated persons as the government comes closer to its goal of fully vaccinating 90 million persons by the end of June.
He noted that almost three million of senior citizens — one of the sectors most vulnerable to COVID-19 — remain unvaccinated.
"We noticed that many of our senior citizens still have vaccine hesitancy. So it takes longer and it takes more effort to find them and to convince them to get vaccinated," Dizon said.
"This is critical so we, together with the Department of Health and all agencies of the national government, are trying to reach them to protect our seniors," he added.
Dizon also cited the need to vaccinate about 15 million children aged five to 11 years old as soon as possible so they can hold in-person classes. The government aims to prioritize MIMAROPA, Bicol, Soccsksargen, Caragam and BARMM in the vaccination efforts, he added.
"We need to raise it (percentage of fully vaccinated persons) because according to our experts, especially as we move towards the new normal, at least 70 percent of the target population in our regions should be vaccinated. The vaccination rate is very critical as we enter the so-called new normal," Dizon said.
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