BY GILBERT P. BAYORAN
The provincial government of Negros Occidental yesterday received 15,930 vials of vaccines from the national government, equivalent to 84,900 doses.
“Our cold storage is now full, and we have more than enough vaccines to serve our needs,” Provincial Inter Agency Task Force action officer Rayfrando Diaz said.
20,300 doses of Pfizer vaccines have been earmarked for the inoculation of children with ages 5 to 11.
Diaz said that the provincial government of Negros Occidental is now ready for the 4th round of the national vaccination campaign which will kick off March 10 until 12.
The vaccination campaign, according to Diaz, is aimed at attaining herd immunity in Negros Occidental.
We are prioritizing the age groups that have not been reached yet by the vaccination especially the senior citizens, Diaz said.
The Provincial Health Office is presently visiting local government units whose vaccination rates for senior citizens are still low.
Diaz said that the DOH will also have a team to augment the manpower during the three-day vaccination program.
As of March 2, at least 63 percent of the target population in the province has already received at least one dose, while 57.22 percent are already fully-vaccinated, according to DOH reports.
A total of 3.17 percent of the fully-vaccinated have received their booster dose.
785,462 of the 2,098,421 target population currently remain unvaccinated.
The low acceptance of the vaccines among senior citizens based on the PHO, can be attributed to their access, especially in areas where they have limited mobility, Diaz said.
The vaccinators have to make the extra effort to go around at the barangay level to reach them, he said.*
