A woman hugs her mother after receiving her first jab of the AstraZeneca vaccine against COVID-19 at the Ramon Magsaysay High School in España Manila on May 13, 2021. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News
MANILA - Vaccine czar Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. on Wednesday urged senior citizens to get vaccinated against COVID-19, citing reports that few elderly people have received their jabs in the country's inoculation drive.
Galvez said in a taped public briefing that there's hesitancy among people aged 60 years and above to get inoculated. He noted that since March 1, when the vaccine program began, only 11 percent of senior citizens in the country have received their COVID-19 shots.
"More than 60 percent po sa casualty po natin ... sa ating namamatay sa COVID ay mga seniors po," he said.
Senior citizens are among the prioritized groups in the country's vaccine drive.
The Philippines earlier in the day recorded 5,310 more COVID-19 infections, bringing the country's cumulative total to nearly 1.2 million.
The deadly pathogen claimed 150 more lives, the highest since May 22, bringing the Philippines' death toll to 20,169. The country's recoveries also climbed by 7,408 to 1,127,770.
Almost 3.5 million people in the Philippines have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, while 1,029,061 are already fully vaccinated.
The government aims to vaccinate at least 70 million Filipinos by yearend to achieve herd immunity.
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