9.9 million vaccinated amid extended COVID-19 national vaccination drive –DOH

A total of 9,937,827 individuals were vaccinated as the government extended the nationwide vaccination drive against COVID-19 to December 3, the Department of Health said Saturday.

At the Laging Handa briefing, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said that the three-day vaccination drive from November 29 to December 1 saw 8.01 million individuals vaccinated against COVID-19.

The two-day extension from December 2 to 3 had 1.9 million individuals receiving their COVID-19 jabs.

The most jabs for a day saw 2.82 million vacciantions.

"The national vaccination day was a huge success," Vergeire said in a mix of Filipino and English.

According to Vergeire, all areas in the country are under Alert Level 2, with regions generally under either "low risk" or "minimal risk" of escalation.

She added that the de-escalation of areas under Alert Level 1 is continuously being discussed by Inter?Agency Task Force (IATF) officials, as the vaccination coverage and the safety seal coverage are being considered aside from the case trends.

Vergeire said the DOH has yet to receive data on hospitals reporting zero COVID-19 active cases, but she took note that the Philippine General Hospital reported no admissions for COVID-19 patients for two days.

A total of 39,161 boosters or additional doses were given to the rest of the population on Friday, she added.

The government is also planning for another three-day vaccination event in the middle of December, possibly from December 15 to 17, 2021. — DVM, GMA News