70 million Pinoys fully vaxxed vs COVID-19

MANILA, Philippines — A little over 70 million Filipinos have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, the National Task Force (NTF) against COVID-19 said over the weekend.

In a statement, NTF chief implementer and vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. said the National Vaccination Operations Center (NVOC) reported that as of Friday, the government has fully vaccinated 70,005,247 or about 77.8 percent of the target population.

“As we promised, we have reached the target of 70 million fully vaccinated individuals. NTF is grateful to all our health workers, volunteers, and compatriots who worked together so that more of us can be vaccinated and protected against COVID-19,” Galvez said.

As of June 17, the NVOC said over 153 million COVID-19 vaccine doses have already been administered, with over 74 million individuals receiving at least one dose.

Galvez said he was confident that the high vaccination rate in the country and continued compliance to health protocols can prevent another surge of COVID-19 infections.

“We have had many superspreader events in the past months, including the national elections, but we still managed to keep our new COVID-19 cases low because of our high vaccination rate… But vaccination alone is not enough. We still have to follow our public health protocols, including frequent washing of hands and wearing of best-fitted face masks,” he added.

“This is our parting gift to the next administration. We hope that our new leaders will also prioritize our vaccination program and continue to build an immunity wall among our people,” Galvez added.

While the NTF remains upbeat about the country’s COVID-19 response and vaccination numbers, Galvez said eligible Filipinos should get their booster shots.

“It is very important to get a booster shot to strengthen the protection of vaccines. For those who can also take a second booster shot, get vaccinated immediately,” he said.

Currently, only frontline health workers, immunocompromised individuals and senior citizens are allowed to take the second boosters.

Data from NVOC showed that 14,704,514 individuals have been administered their first booster shots, while 648,555 have received the second booster dose.

Health workers and senior citizens can take their second booster shot four months after their first booster dose, while immunocompromised individuals have to wait for three months after their first booster shot.