Continued vaccination paves road to Alert Level 1 – Concepcion
Presidential adviser for entrepreneurship and Go Negosyo founder Joey Concepcion yesterday said continued vaccination would have an important role in the transition to Alert Level 1 to sustain the country’s economic growth momentum.
“It is important for NCR to have booster shots so we can open and go down to Alert Level 1. Hopefully, by March, we see Alert Level 1,” he said during the Laging Handa public briefing yesterday.
Concepcion is pushing for a shift to Alert Level 1 for NCR by March as a way to allow the economy to move forward, amid declining COVID cases.
For areas with high infection rate and low vaccination level, he said these have to be corrected before they can de-escalate to Alert Level 1.
“So, I am really appealing to all citizens, this vaccination has to continue. The vaccination program has to continue so we can move forward. We will be able to control the pandemic and eventually move towards an endemic state,” he said.
70 percent
More than 70 percent of the population in most of the country’s regions have been fully inoculated against COVID-19 but more has to be done to address vaccine hesitancy in some areas, chief implementer Carlito Galvez, Jr. said.
During President Duterte’s public address last Monday, Galvez said ten regions have vaccinated more than 70 percent of their population, while five exceeded 80 percent vaccination coverage.
Regions leading in achieving targets are Metro Manila (114.1 percent), 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: 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 with only 28.02 percent, Galvez said, lamenting low vaccination coverage due to vaccine hesitancy among some Muslims.
As of Feb. 14, 61.63 million Filipinos have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, with 61.23 million receiving a first dose and 9.16 million having booster shots.
For pediatric vaccination, 149,612 children aged five to 11 have received at least one dose, 5,500 of them with comorbidities. About 9.3 million minors aged 12 to 17 have availed of their first vaccine dose, while 8.07 million others have received their second shot.
COVID-19 response adviser Vince Dizon said 15 million children aged five to 11 need to be jabbed as soon as possible so they can hold in-person classes.
The government aims to prioritize Mimaropa, Bicol, Soccsksargen, Caraga and BARMM in the vaccination efforts, he added.
Extended
The third leg of the National Vaccination Days has been extended until Feb. 18, following the success of the initial rollout on Feb. 10, the National Task Force against COVID-19 (NTF) announced yesterday.
“The program will simultaneously run with the expansion of COVID-19 jabs for children ages five to 11, prioritizing the senior citizens (A2) and indigent population (A5),” the NTF said, adding that the vaccination drive aims to administer two million primary series jabs and four million booster doses.