At least 66.2 million individuals have been fully inoculated against Covid-19 in the country, the Department of Health announced on Tuesday, April 5.

“As of April 4, 66.2 million have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19, while 1.4 million have already received their first dose of the vaccine,” said DOH Spokesperson Maria Rosario S. Vergeire during a virtual briefing.

Meanwhile, she said 6.6 million senior citizens have been fully vaccinated against the dreaded disease.

“Also, 8.9 million persons with comorbidities or A3 population are now fully protected against Covid-19,” she said.

Vergeire said over 1 million children have been fully inoculated, as well as 9 million adolescents.

With the emergence of new variants of Covid-19, the DOH has called on the public, especially the 46.8 million eligible citizens, to get inoculated with booster shots.

Per the spokesperson, 12.2 million individuals have already received their booster shots, as of April 4.

She reminded the public that the efficacy of vaccines wanes over time which is why the public must get their booster shot.

“Let’s not wait for another variant of Covid-19 or wave of cases, let’s get boosted to have a continuous protection against Covid-19,” Vergeire appealed.

Countries with higher rates of booster vaccination, she noted, have seen fewer deaths in recent Covid-19 surges.

“Batay rin po sa pag-aaral ng (Based on the study of the) Center for Disease Control and Prevention or CDC, being boosted reduces the risk of hospitalization by 81 percent. Batay po ito sa kanilang datos noong nasa peak ng pananalanta ang Omicron variant (This was according to their data during the peak of Omicron variant),” Vergeire said.

Source:
courtesy of MANILA BULLETIN

by Jel Santos

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