IT seems the arrival of the delta variant of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) on our shores has fast-tracked the government’s vaccination program.
Health Secretary Francisco Duque III announced on Thursday, Aug. 5, 2021, that the number of individuals who have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19 had breached the 10-million mark the day before.
It looks a lot on paper, but the number only comprised around 13 percent of the government’s vaccination target of 77.7 million to achieve herd immunity and accounted for around 9.3 percent of the country’s population, which is estimated at 109 million.
The Philippines may be far from the finish line, but it has begun the race nevertheless.
Because of the delta variant, its problem now is not to convince a large portion of the population to get the jab. Public perception has changed considerably since the days when people thought an inoculation was a death sentence.
Record numbers have been flocking to vaccination centers around the archipelago.
Secretary Vince Dizon, deputy chief implementer of the National Task Force Against Covid-19, said, “Daily inoculations exceeded the government target of 500,000 on July 28 and reached a high of 702,013 on Aug. 3.”
In Cebu, the rise in the number of Covid-19 cases has galvanized local government units into action. They don’t want to get caught off-guard in case the worst-case scenario happens. However, it has not been easy as they are aware of the delicate balance they have to maintain.
While they need to ensure public safety, they also have to be careful not to derail economic recovery, which has been slowly picking up since mobility restrictions were eased.
So even though the tri-cities of Cebu, Mandaue and Lapu-Lapu are currently under modified enhanced community quarantine, the second most stringent quarantine level, it’s “business as usual.”
People go about their lives, albeit with masks on. Traffic is back. The metro is once again a hubbub of activity. Then the sense of normality is broken by the blaring siren of an ambulance or the sight of shuttered business establishments, grim reminders that Cebu and the rest of the country and the world are still in the grips of the pandemic.
The world has come a long way from the uncertainty it faced when the health crisis started 17 months ago. As long as people observe minimum health protocols, they can keep the illness at bay. Of course, getting vaccinated is one way of ensuring survival against a potentially fatal disease.
If the Philippines can only have a steady supply of vaccines, then its chances of getting to the finish line much faster will be higher.