The National Task Force (NTF) against COVID-19 said Thursday that a dip in the Philippines’ cases of COVID-19 infections may be seen by October or November, once most of the people occupying highly urbanized areas like Metro Manila are inoculated.
NTF chief implementer and vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. said a downward trend could be noticed once the country has secured more vaccine doses, delivery of which is to be ramped up in the coming months.
In the meantime, the government has to rely on the implementation of public health standards to control the spread of the disease.
“What we’re seeing is once we have vaccinated a majority of the population in highly urbanized cities like Metro Manila, maybe by October or November, we will see the effects… that (cases) will really drop,” Galvez said in a briefing.
“For now, we should observe minimum health standards,” he added.
The Philippines is currently administering the Chinese drug maker’s CoronaVac and the British-made AstraZeneca.
According to Galvez, the country hopes to have a portfolio of at least seven vaccine brands this year.
