Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 3) — The government is considering increasing its COVID-19 vaccination target from 70% to 80% of the population due to the highly contagious Delta variant.
Health Undersecretary Myrna Cabotaje says this will depend on the country’s policies on vaccinating minors as this revision means expanding the local inoculation drive to those aged below 18 years old.
“With the Delta variant, there is a looming proposal na kailangang taasan pa iyong ating (that we need to raise our) vaccination coverage to 80%,” Health Undersecretary Myrna Cabotaje said on Tuesday in an online briefing.
“That will mean – include na natin ang below 18 years old kasi karamihan po ng 70 million ay covered na siya ng 18 and above,” she added.
[Translation: That will mean including those below 18 years old in the vaccination program because our initial target of 70 million already covers people aged 18 and above.]
Health Secretary Francisco Duque III earlier said the Philippines will not yet start administering COVID-19 shots to minors, citing the need for more studies. Duque said the Duterte administration will wait for other countries to vaccinate children against COVID-19 and learn from their experience.
The country’s limited vaccine supply is currently earmarked for sectors considered vulnerable to COVID-19. These include the healthcare personnel, senior citizens, and people with comorbidities.
The country has administered around 21 million COVID-19 vaccine doses.
Based on their estimates, Cabotaje said 50% to 60% of the population could be immunized by the end of the year, and that may go up to 70% in early 2022.
