Vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. said the country could have half of its population fully vaccinated against Covid-19 by yearend.
In a Palace briefing, Galvez said 50 percent was the “most achievable” vaccination target for the country.
“Realistically, ang nakikita namin based doon sa computations namin na talagang more or less ang pinaka-achievable natin is 50 percent,” he said.
The government had been aiming to reach the 70 million mark by yearend for Filipinos to celebrate a normal Christmas, but vaccination for the general population has yet to be opened.
Initially, the country’s herd immunity threshold was 70 percent, before officials changed it to up to 90 percent.
Galvez said reaching 70 percent remained possible by yearend.
“Kapag once na gumanda po iyong ating vaccination, talagang medyo makuha niya iyong one million or even more, makakaya po natin iyong 60 to 70 percent,” he said.
According to the vaccine czar, the country has been inoculating 600,000 to 800,000 Filipinos daily. John Ezekiel J. Hirro