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MANILA, Philippines – It will take three to five years before the Philippines can vaccinate its target of 60 million Filipinos against COVID-19, Vaccine Czar and Pandemic Response Implementation Chief Carlito Gálvez Jr said Wednesday .
“We will do this in a period of three to five years kasi po ang kaya lang natin ma-vaccinate you is more or less 20 to 30 million a year,” Galvez said in a televised briefing.
(We will do this in three to five years because we can only vaccinate about 20 to 30 million in one year.)
The country aims to vaccinate between 50 and 60 percent of its population or 60 million Filipinos to achieve a herd immunity in which enough people in a specific area are protected against infectious diseases.
Gálvez said that the “realistic” rollout of mass COVID-19 vaccination is from late 2021 to early 2022.
The Philippines is already in talks with various pharmaceutical companies such as AstraZeneca, Sinovac Biotech and AstraZeneca for the advance purchase of a COVID-19 vaccine.
The government intends to use P73.2 billion of loans, national sources such as LandBank and government corporations, and bilateral sources to finance the purchase.
EDV
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