MANILA, Philippines — On Saturday, DOH reported that almost 10 million individuals have been vaccinated against COVID-19. The government effort vaccinated 9,937,827 people during its nationwide vaccination campaign during the past week.
During the three-day vaccination drive, only around 8 million people were vaccinated. This fell short of the goal to inject 9 million individuals. Local government units took upon themselves to extend their efforts by continuing the drive for two more days. This added 1.9 million more people to the count.
Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire declared the mass vaccination campaign a success. She also called for local authorities to improve the efficiency of their systems. Vergeire advised creating separate lines for those taking their primary shots and booster shots. She also encouraged allowing walk-ins as long as health protocols can still be enforced.
The government’s goal is to vaccinate 54 million before 2021 ends. The latest data shows that only 37.56 million have completed their vaccination, and 52.62 million have received partial protection. As such, the government plans to hold another three-day drive sometime mid-December.
Health officials are also urging Filipino citizens to take their booster shots especially since the onset of the Omicron variant.