MANILA -- Acting Presidential Spokesperson Secretary Karlo Nograles commended all entities and individuals involved in the three-day National COVID-19 Vaccination Days dubbed as Bayanihan Bakunahan that was held from November 29 to December 1, 2021.

“Suma total nasa mahigit 8.01-M ang total vaccines administered sa tatlong araw o katumbas sa 89.06 percent ng ating committed target,” said Secretary Nograles in a press briefing on December 3, 2021.

The Palace official said two important vaccination milestones were achieved during the three-day national vaccination campaign. “First, we are the fourth highest single-day jabs administered in the world. Hindi lang po 2.7 million, yan po ay 2.8 million sa isang araw. Second, we are number one in terms of 7-day moving average jabs per 100 people per day across countries with a population of 100 million or greater,” said Secretary Nograles.

Of the 8.01 million vaccines administered from November 29, 2021 to December 1, 2021 vaccination campaign, 2.7 million individuals were vaccinated on day one, 2.4 million on day two, and 2.8 million on day three, according to the National Vaccination Operations Center.

To put things in perspective, Secretary Nograles said that for the National Vaccination Days, every vaccination center is open for around 12 hours, in average. “If that is the case, 8.01 million people vaccinated over the course of 36 hours is approximately 222,500 Filipinos vaccinated per hour, or 3,708 people vaccinated per minute, or something like 62 Filipinos vaccinated per second. Sixty-two Filipinos per second. Yan po ang nagawa nitong National Vaccination Days,” Nograles remarked.

Further, Sec. Nograles emphasized that prior to the National Vaccination Days, the Philippines’ daily jab rate averages 900,000 per day, which means that the output per day from the Bayanihan Bakunahan is triple that of the country’s daily jabs average.

Nograles also announced that because of the number of people who want to get vaccinated and to sustain the momentum, the National Vaccination Days were extended until today, December 3, 2021. “Ito po ay voluntary extension sa panig ng mga local government units (LGUs) as a response to the flood of people wanting to get vaccinated in their respective jurisdictions. Mas lalo pa nating paigtingin ang bakunahan,” said Nograles.

According to the December 2, 2021 National COVID-19 Vaccination Dashboard, more than 90.2 million doses have been administered nationwide, of which 48.42 percent or 37.3 million individuals are fully vaccinated.

The Acting Presidential Spokesperson and concurrent Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) spokesperson also announced that the expanded rollout of the administration of booster or additional doses for all fully vaccinated individuals ages 18 and above, including the Phase II rollout for the booster/additional doses for Priority Group A3 or for those with comorbidities, begins today, December 3, 2021.

“Tandaan natin na importanteng magpabakuna sa gitna ng banta ng Omicron variant,” said Nograles. He added, “Sa milyun-milyong nabakunahan na mga Pilipino, 99%+++ ay walang naramdaman na adverse reaction, o kung mayroon man, mild lamang po ito. Wala pong namatay na direktang may kaugnayan sa COVID-19 vaccine jab.”

Meanwhile, Department of Health Epidemiology Bureau Director Dr. Alethea De Guzman explained that while Omicron has the potential for increased transmissibility, there is still no evidence that it will cause more severe disease, that it is more fatal, or that it affects specific age groups, as the World Health Organization is still studying available evidence.

With the threat of Omicron, Dr. De Guzman said LGUs are on heightened alert for case increase and clusters through active case finding, and were directed to put emphasis on the importance of immediate isolation and contact tracing.

De Guzman underscored that adherence to the minimum public health standards and vaccination remain the most effective preventive measures against Omicron. She also emphasized the importance of preparing the country’s health system capacity in the case of an uptick in cases, and continuous bio-surveillance through whole genome sequencing. (OPS)