Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 20) — Over 8 million coronavirus shots have been administered across the Philippines, reflecting that Filipinos’ vaccine hesitancy is fading, a government official said Sunday.
Citing data from the National Vaccination Operations Center, vaccine czar Carlito G. Galvez, Jr. said 5.95 million were already given as the first dose, while 2.09 million were administered as the second dose.
“We’re now seeing an upward trajectory in the vaccination across all priority groups. This is a very good indication that vaccine hesitancy is being addressed and more Filipinos, especially our senior citizens, are now willing to get inoculated,” he was quoted as saying in a statement.
Galvez also said the government averaged more than one million shots for the past two weeks, claiming this mirrored Filipinos’ growing trust in COVID-19 vaccines, China’s Sinovac in particular.
Last June 15, the government posted its highest daily vaccination rate of 322,929 shots.
“We are happy that the public uptake for Sinovac has also increased significantly. The steady supply of doses particularly of this brand will enable us to fast track the inoculation of the A4 priority group, as well as provide much-needed vaccines to emerging hotspots across the country,” the official said.
“We will sustain our momentum, as we expect a steady supply of vaccines in the coming weeks and months,” Galvez said.
READ: PH receives 1.5M Sinovac doses, more arriving on June 24
As of June 20, 1.05 million healthcare workers have been inoculated; 1.93 million senior citizens have received their first dose, while 536,476 already got both vaccine shots.
Under the A3 category, or for persons with comorbidities, two million Filipinos received their first dose, while 498,925 are now fully vaccinated.
A total of 8,127 Filipinos under the A4 category have been fully vaccinated, while 452,600 more await their second dose.
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Almost 4,000 vaccination sites have been deployed by the government to ramp up its inoculation drive.
