Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 17) — Nine areas dubbed by the government as “economic centers” vulnerable to the coronavirus are set to receive a significant chunk of the vaccines yet to arrive in the country, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said Monday.
In a Palace briefing, Roque said these “focus areas,” which include Metro Manila, Bulacan, Cavite, Pampanga, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, as well as Metro Cebu and Metro Davao, will get 42% of the incoming supply.
“‘Yung prayoridad, it’s because alam naman po natin ito talaga ‘yung hotspots for COVID-19 [The priority is being given because as we know, these areas are COVID-19 hotspots], which is not a badge of honor po, ‘no. It really is just an answer to a medical fact,” Roque said.
Vaccine czar Carlito Galvez, Jr. previously explained such a strategy was also meant to help the economy recover faster, as quarantine restrictions in these areas could be further relaxed if the majority of the residents are already immunized.
The remaining 58% of the supply, Roque said, will be distributed to other localities across the country.
Galvez earlier bared they target to inoculate around 25 million Filipinos by September 2021. The government also hopes to achieve herd immunity from COVID-19 within the year by vaccinating up to 70 million Filipinos.
Official data as of May 15 show some 2.24 million individuals nationwide have received their COVID-19 vaccine, with 714,432 having been given their second dose. Of the total vaccine recipients, 1.2 million are health workers, nearly 590,000 are senior citizens, 430,000 are persons with comorbidities, and almost 9,000 are non-medical frontline personnel in essential sectors.
