THE number of Filipinos who received Covid-19 vaccines is expected to breach the 6 million mark this month after the government started the inoculation of economic frontliners last Monday.
As of June 6, Chief implementer of the government’s national policy on Covid-19 Carlito G. Galvez Jr. said 5.97 million have been given their Covid-19 jabs. Of the figure, 1.6 million are from the National Capital Region (NCR).
Galvez said vaccination slowed down last week due to the delays in the delivery of Covid-19 vaccines procured by the government.
He expressed confidence that the number of vaccinated individuals will rise in the coming weeks following the arrival of an additional 1 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine of Sinovac Biotech, Coronavac, last Sunday.
The said doses will be given not only to senior citizens and those with comorbidities but also to economic frontliners.
On Monday, the government held the symbolic vaccination of those belonging to the A4 priority sector, which includes economic frontliners and essential workers.
The National Economic and Development Authority estimated there are 35.5 million workers in the A4 category. These include workers in the private, government, and informal sector, who physically report to their workplaces or are deployed in field work.
Galvez said the government will prioritize the vaccination of workers in the NCR, Metro Cebu, Metro Davao, Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, Pampanga, and Rizal, which have the high cases of infections.
He said the expected arrival of over 10 million additional doses this month and 15 million doses in August will boost the government’s vaccination drive.
The government is targeting to inoculate 50 to 70 million Filipinos by the end of the year.