President Rodrigo Duterte appealed to the public on Wednesday, June 2, to get vaccinated against COVID-19, after data showed the government was far behind its immunization targets.
“I invite all our countrymen to be vaccinated at the earliest possible opportunity because this is the most, if not the only way, effective way, to defeat the COVID-19 pandemic,” Duterte said.
“Let us all keep in mind that the vaccine will not only protect you from the virus, it will also protect your loved ones, especially the sick and elderly,” he added.
John Wong, a data analyst on the government’s coronavirus task force, said that in the three months since early inoculations started, just 14 percent of senior citizens and 8 percent of people with health conditions had received first doses of a vaccine, short of the 21 percent target.
Wong attributed the slow rollout to limited vaccine supplies, vaccine hesitancy and accessibility problems.
“Some people want the vaccine but cannot access it. We need to address access issues,” Wong said, adding that only half of the 2.1 million people eligible for a second dose had come back to receive it.
“We need to follow up on this,” he added.
The Philippines has logged 1.24 million cases and 21,158 deaths since its first domestic infections in March last year.
The over 50s were the worst hit, accounting for more 81 percent of deaths, Wong said.
Carlito Galvez, the former general in charge of vaccine procurement, expects a steadier flow of vaccine supply from this month onwards.
The Philippines is set to receive nearly 10 million doses of vaccines of various brands in June, which would allow for 1.5 million shots to be administered weekly, he said in a television interview.
The Health department said that in the seven days to May 30, an average of 144,402 doses of COVID-19 vaccines were administered daily.
Meanwhile, experts studying the coronavirus pandemic in the country noted a “slight” uptick in COVID-19 cases in Metro Manila after the surge in cases in March to April.
In its report on Wednesday, June 2, independent Octa Research team said that the seven-day average of new COVID-19 cases in the capital region had a one week growth rate of 8 percent, which is equivalent to 1,135 cases.
The Octa team said that this was the “first time the region had an increase since the peak of the surge, although the increase was slight.”
The Philippines on Wednesday recorded 5,257 additional COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number of infections to 1,240,716.
There were 52,132 active cases or 4.2 percent of the total while recoveries were at 6,266, pushing the total to 1,167,426.
There were 146 new deaths, bringing the total to 21,158. – with a report from Reuters
Source: Licas Philippines
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