9 high-risk areas priorities under ‘center of gravity’ plan

MANILA – High-risk areas will be under the “Focus and Expand–Center of Gravity” vaccination strategy in a bid to defeat the Covid-19 pandemic.

Secretary Carlito Galvez, Jr., Chief Implementer of the National Task Force (NTF) Against Covid-19, said the center of gravity refers to economic centers that are most exposed to Covid-19 transmission.

“Ang maganda po talaga magkaroon po tayo ng strategy na tinatawag nating focus and expand through center of gravity. Iyong center of gravity po, ito po ‘yong tinatawag natin na economic centers. At the same time, ito po ‘yung mga vulnerable areas (The good thing is that we have a strategy called focus and expand through the center of gravity. The center of gravity will be the centers and the vulnerable areas),” Galvez reported in the Cabinet meeting Monday night in Matina, Davao City.

The government will focus its vaccination program on nine high-risk areas – National Capital Region (NCR) Plus (Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal), Pampanga, Batangas, Metro Cebu, and Metro Davao.

The other regions in the country, he added, will be grouped under “expansion areas” – Region III, Region IV, Cagayan de Oro, Baguio City, Zamboanga City, Bacolod, Iloilo, General Santos, Iligan City in Region X, and Caraga Region.

“So pagka na-address po natin, na-strengthen natin ang ating vulnerabilities at the same time we strengthen our economy, iyon po ang center of gravity po natin (Once we addressed that and at the same time we strengthen the economy, then that will be the center of gravity)” Galvez said.

Metro Davao and Cebu will also get steady supplies of vaccines, Galvez added.

In June, the Philippines will receive 1.1 million Pfizer doses, 4.5 million of Sinovac, 250,000 Moderna jabs, 1.3 million AstraZeneca doses, and two million doses of Russia’s Sputnik V.

To date, the country is administering an average of 65,879 Covid-19 jabs daily.