Marking the first anniversary of the Resbakuna Program, the country’s national vaccination rollout program, the Department of Health (DOH) recorded over 63 million fully vaccinated Filipinos against COVID-19.
During its initial phase, the program prioritized inoculating the sectors that are at high risk of COVID-19 infection- the medical frontliners, senior citizens, and people with comorbidities. To date, data from the National Vaccination Operations Center (NVOC) show that 93% of healthcare workers, 62.82% of our senior citizens, and 92% of people with comorbidities have been fully vaccinated, respectively. As part of this feat, the country has also begun the vaccination of children aged 5 to 11 years old with more than 700,000 children receiving their first COVID-19 doses.
Coming from a peak in the number of cases in January, we now observe a decline as we realize wider and extensive national vaccination coverage in addition to minimum public health standards. This provides a clearer picture to what the World Health Organization (WHO) had previously envisioned in countries with high vaccination rates, as transmissions of the virus do not automatically lead to pressuring the health system and its capacity.
The DOH continues to work towards population protection through programs such as the conduct of National Vaccination Days, Resbakuna sa Botika, and vaccination in pharmacies, primary care and occupational health clinics, as well as air, sea, and transportation terminals for the elderly and vulnerable populations. As Metro Manila and 38 areas are placed under Alert level 1, the DOH encourages the public to recognize the importance of staying protected through vaccination and adherence to minimum health standard protocols with the easing of restrictions./PN
