Vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. on Wednesday said the country’s vaccination rate continued to decline despite its recent national vaccination drive.
In President Rodrigo Duterte’s “Talk to the People” address, Galvez said the country had been facing a vaccine demand issue due to “complacency.”
“Nakikita po natin noong unang mga panahon, mayroon tayong mga supply issue, sa ngayon naman nakikita po natin nagsisimula po tayong magkaroon ng demand issue dahil gumaganda na po ang kalagayan ng Pilipinas,” Galvez said.
“Nagiging complacent na po ‘yung mga kasamahan natin na magpabakuna,” he added.
According to Galvez, the country’s vaccination rate has been on the decline since November 2021.
The country’s fourth national vaccination drive, originally scheduled for March 10-12, has yet to meet its 1.8 million vaccinee target despite being extended in several areas until March 19.
“Nakikita po natin na since February, our output decreased by more than 50 percent. And this month, we might only achieve five to six million doses administered,” he said.
The government is aiming to have 70 million Filipinos fully vaccinated before April and 90 million fully vaccinated by the end of June to achieve population protection.
As of Wednesday, the halfway mark of March, Galvez said the country had 64,660,228 fully vaccinated individuals. John Ezekiel J. Hirro