COVID-19 PANDEMIC-VAX: METRO MANILA Philippines Herd immunity in NCR
With a very progressive and aggressive vaccination drive in place, the National Capital Region (NCR) is set to achieve close to 100 percent of its target population to be fully vaccinated against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) early next year.
Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Benhur Abalos said their projections showed 94.62 percent of the 9.8 million eligible population were due to complete the vaccination series by December 1.
This will then increase to 99.46 percent or 9,747,243 individuals by February 1, 2022.
The number of fully vaccinated individuals in the NCR stood at 87.69 percent of the target population or 8.59 million as of November 1.
Health Undersecretary Myrna Cabotaje said the NCR has “developed its cadence” and Metro Manila mayors already know how to deploy the vaccines as soon as they receive them.
The IATF also announced on Sunday, Oct. 31, that a total of 9,374,416 people or 95.89 percent of the target population in Metro Manila had received at least their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccines while 8,498,986 individuals or 86.93 percent have been fully vaccinated.
Metro Manila has a total population of 13,484,462, according to a 2020 Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) census.
Six cities in the NCR have achieved herd immunity by surpassing the Department of Health’s (DOH) target of 70 percent. These are: San Juan, Las Pinas, Marikina, Mandaluyong, Taguig, and most recently, Pateros. The cities of Manila, Malabon, Valenzuela, Caloocan, Pasay, Muntinlupa, and Paranaque and Navotas are not far behind.
Meanwhile, Quezon City has already surpassed its target population for vaccination but Mayor Joy Belmonte said the city will only claim herd immunity after vaccinating the majority of its minors.
“We have about 240,000 12 to 17-year-olds that we have to vaccinate. Kung matatapos natin ito maabot na natin yung tinatawag nating herd immunity (If we finish this, we will be able to reach what we call herd immunity) or 70 percent of the entire population,” said Belmonte.
How the Metro Manila cities are getting close to the finish line of vaccination can be seen in the infographic below:
Published November 5, 2021, 11:02 AM
