Iloilo City has already achieved herd immunity against the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), according to the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).

“Out of our highly urbanized cities, umaabot po ng 23 siyudad ang umabot na po ng 70 percent and up na fully vaccinated,” DILG Secretary Eduardo Año said on Tuesday, Dec. 7.

“So, ibig sabihin po almost sa target population ay nakamit na ang herd immunity sa target population,” he added.

Iloilo City, based on Año’s latest report, is among the 23 herd immunity areas or “those that have reached 70 percent of their target population.”

As of Monday, Dec. 6, 70.57 percent of the city’s target population of 525,000 have been fully vaccinated against the viral disease, data from the COVID-19 Emergency Operations Center showed.

Herd immunity is defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) “as the indirect protection from an infectious disease which happens when a population becomes immune due to vaccination or immunity developed through previous infections.IMT/Photo by Ian Cordero