OCTA: Population protection possible before Christmas with 350K jabs daily

The Philippines can achieve population protection from COVID-19 before Christmas this year if daily vaccination rate is ramped up to 350,000, the OCTA Research group said Wednesday.

In a report, the independent team of experts said doubling the country’s current average of 195,400 inoculations daily “will project to more than 60 million jabs by November 15, enough to achieve Philippine population protection before Christmas.”

Earlier, the government said that it is eyeing population protection in Metro Manila, Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal by November 27 this year. 

Also on Wednesday, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority chairman Benhur Abalos expressed confidence that this can be achieved in the National Capital Region (NCR).

Interviewed on ANC, Abalos said the national government is expecting to have 15 million more doses of COVID-19 vaccine by August.

"Now we're doing 200,000 jabs a day and it's even increasing with the help of the private sector," Abalos said.

OCTA said the target for population protection or COVID-19 containment is to vaccinate 40 to 50% of the population, especially in priority areas.

“Overall, the country needs a minimum of 50 million vaccine doses to achieve a level of population protection (this may include other priority areas such as Bacolod, Iloilo City, etc.),” the group said.

Meanwhile, OCTA experts said that if the Philippines continues to administer 195,400 daily, total jabs will reach 40 million by November 15.

If the country increases daily vaccinations to 250,000, there will be 50 million doses administered by November 15, “sufficient to attain some level of population protection,” the OCTA experts added.

According to the Health Department, the Philippines has administered a total of 8.4 million doses as of June 20 — 6.2 million of which were first doses and 2.1 million were second doses. 

An earlier report quoted vaccine czar Carlito Galvez as saying that the government's goal is for Filipinos to have a “better Christmas” this year. —LBG/KBK, GMA News