PH won’t be last in Asia to acquire COVID-19 immunity – Palace
MANILA – The Philippines would not become one of the last in Asia to acquire herd immunity against COVID-19, Malacañang said on Wednesday.
Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque was reacting to United Kingdom- based think tank Pantheon Macroeconomics f i ndings t hat cl aim t he Philippines might be among the last to attain herd immunity as its mass vaccination has lagged behind its neighbors’ vaccination campaigns.
The think tank said 85 percent of the population must be immunized to achieve herd immunity, with the recent emergence of the Delta variant in India.
Roque said the think tank’s projection may be based on the pace of the country’s vaccination when vaccine supplies were few and only Sinovac and AstraZeneca vaccines were available.
“We will prove them wrong,” Roque said in a press briefing.
“think tank must have been our pace of
Ang basehan ng vaccination early on Sinovac
na talagang AstraZeneca,” he added.
ang meron tayo at kakaunti Roque s a i d v a c c i n e ang availability has since improved thanks to the World Health Organization- l ed COVAX facility of US-made Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines, and the arrival of procured Sinovac and Russia’s Sputnik V shots.
The Philippines has already received over 14 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines, eight million of which have already been administered. Currently, over two million people have received both doses of the vaccine.
Roque also said 350,000 vaccinations were administered on a daily basis. He believes the government can reach 500,000 vaccinations a day.
“we have the ability mag-
Nakikita ninyo talaga na vaccinate
na at talagang hinihintay
supply,” he said. natin mas maraming
Roque said the Philippines could achieve herd containment by vaccinating 50 percent of the population by December.
“It’s really achievable this December, we’re still aiming at least we go outdoors, it could be
na said.( a © maskless Christmas,” he 2021)