Philippines raises COVID-19 vaccination target to 90%

The Philippines is raising its target for COVID-19 vaccination coverage to 90% of the population due to the Delta variant.

Vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. announced this new target during a House of Representatives session on September 9, stating that it would be achieved at the earliest in 2022.

Galvez explained that experts suggest raising the threshold to 80-90% for herd immunity against the more contagious Delta variant.

The government aims to vaccinate 77 million Filipinos by year-end and 90 million by early next year, including adolescents under 18 since all eligible adults are already covered in the initial 70% goal.