DOH Undersecretary Enrique D. Domingo administers the ceremonial measles vaccination to an elementary school student of Sta. Rosa Elementary School Central III during the launching of the “Back to Bakuna: School-Based Immunization Program for CALABARZON in Sta. Rosa City, Laguna with Provincial Health Team Leader Dr. Gigi G. Janairo (center), Family Health Unit Head Dr. Felices Emerita P. Perez (left) and DOHO and the student’s guardian (right) held on July 25, 2019. FILE PHOTO. (Photo from Glen Ramos, DOH Region IV-A)

The country aims to start vaccinating the general public in mid-2021, National Task Force Against Covid-19 deputy chief implementer Vince Dizon said on Wednesday.

In a Laging Handa briefing, Dizon said the general public would be vaccinated once healthcare workers and senior citizens have been inoculated.

“Ang objective po natin ay by mid-year ay natapos na po natin ang ating mga healthcare workers pati na rin ang ating mga senior citizens. So tama po sana pagdating ng Moderna at ng iba pang mga bakuna, eh malapit na po tayo o magsisimula na tayo sa ating general population,” he said.

The country has so far received 1,125,600 Covid-19 vaccine doses.

As of March 8, 44,000 doses have been administered in the country.

Dr. John Wong-Lim, member of the Inter-Agency Task Force’s (IATF) technical working group on data analytics, said the Philippines was not yet ready to allow Filipinos to gather without masks.

“Mahirap kasi talagang mapigilan ang pagkalat ng sakit kapag nakapasok na sa pamamahay. Siyempre, ang atin namang behavior is pagdating natin sa bahay hindi na tayo nagma-mask at siyempre malapitan ang ating interactions. So, ang tanging solusyon diyan is dapat hindi tayo mahawaan sa labas ng bahay para ligtas pa rin iyong mga taong kasama natin,” he said. John Ezekiel J. Hirro