PH ‘not likely’ to achieve herd immunity until 2023
Moody’s Analytics predicts that the Philippines may not achieve herd immunity until 2023, and that it will lag behind its neighboring countries in terms of post-pandemic economic growth.
“After gradually falling from August to February, the number of new cases is rising again, and some quarantine measures are still in place. And pork prices have risen, caused by African swine fever, and vegetable prices have increased, caused by lingering impacts of last year’s typhoons,” Moody’s Analytics chief economist for Asia-Pacific Steven Cochrane noted.
Cochrane added that only the Philippines and Thailand “still appear to be lagging in their procurement of vaccines,” although their estimates project that the two countries will “acquire the needed vaccines as the number of sources expands.”
The Philippine government has previously stated that they aim to vaccinate the general population by late April or early May 2021, as they seek to “eliminate COVID-19” by 2022.
