Govt to 'try best' to meet 54M vaccination year-end target despite 'Odette' impact

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, December 20) — The government is managing expectations on its year-end vaccination target in the aftermath of Typhoon Odette, an official said on Monday.

"We will really try our best to hit the goal of 54 million. Pero napakalaki talaga nitong epekto nitong bagyo lalo na dun sa mga areas na talagang halos di nakakapagbakuna dahil nga sa bigat ng tama," said Presidential Adviser for COVID-19 Response Vince Dizon during a briefing.

[Translation: But the effect of this typhoon is massive especially on areas that can hardly vaccinate anyone because of its aftermath.]

The typhoon battered parts of the Visayas and Mindanao.

“Sa mga areas ng Region 8, Region 7, Caraga, at iba pang mga parte ng Region 4B tulad ng Palawan eh hindi muna natin sila pine-pressure na magbakuna dahil nga talagang napakabigat ng sinapit nila nitong nakaraang mga araw. Kaya siguro bibigyan natin sila ng pagkakataong mag-recover,” the official added.

[Translation: We won’t be pressuring areas such as Region 8, Region 7, Caraga, and other parts of Region 4B like Palawan to conduct vaccination given how heavily they were impacted the past days. We will give them a chance to recover.]

Teams will still be mobilized in affected areas to inoculate as much people, added Dizon.

The country administered over 100 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to date. Of this number, more than 43.53 million completed their shots.

National Task Force Against COVID-19 chief implementer Carlito Galvez Jr. said calamity response must be prioritized for now.

Authorities earlier postponed the second round of National Vaccination Days in anticipation of the typhoon.