Higher Covid-19 vax turnout seen amid stable supply

MANILA – Malacañang on Thursday expressed optimism that more Filipinos will get inoculated against the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) as the country continues to receive more vaccines.

In an online press briefing, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said the Duterte administration is expecting a faster uptick in the vaccination turnout since the supply is no longer an issue.

“So, sagana na po ngayon ang ating supply at inaasahan natin na mapapabilis natin ngayon ang ating pagbabakuna (So, we are expecting that we will be able to hasten the vaccination [in the country] since we have plenty of supply),” Roque said.

Roque’s statement came after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) raised worry that the allegedly “low” vaccination rate in the country might have a “very serious” impact on the economy.

IMF Asia and Pacific department director Changyong Rhee on Tuesday said prioritizing the Covid-19 vaccination would help the Philippines recover from the pandemic-induced economic slump.

According to the IMF’s Regional Outlook report for Asia and Pacific published Tuesday, the Philippines, as well as Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand, are “still facing severe challenges from a resurgent virus and weakness in contact-intensive sectors.”

Roque ensured that the government is doing its best to ramp up its vaccination drive against Covid-19.

The current administration, he said, hopes to administer 1 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine daily.

“Kaya nga po pinabibilisan natin ang ating pagbabakuna (That is why we are ramping up our vaccination campaign),” Roque said. “Inaasahan po natin from 500, magiging 1 million iyan kung hindi 1.5 million daily (We expect that from 500,000, we will reach at least 1 million, if not 1.5 million jabs, daily).”

As of Wednesday, more than 53,838,248 Covid-19 vaccine doses have already been administered nationwide. /