Cebu inoculates 1M individuals for 1st dose of vaccine

Dr. Mary Jean Loreche’s first jab during the ceremonial Covid-19 vaccination in Cebu City at Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center last March 4. | Photo Courtesy of OPAV

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Cebu Province and the Tricities of Cebu, Mandaue, and Lapu-Lapu have reached a million individuals inoculated with the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine on September 10, 2021.

On Friday, Doctor Mary Jean Loreche, spokesperson of the Visayas COVID-19 Vaccination Operations Center (VVOC), already said that the island might finally reach a million vaccinated individuals because only 2,000 were left to reach the desired million.

“Ibig sabihin, 2,000 plus na lang ang kakailanganin and we will be at our one million dose for our first dose (as of September 10),” Dr. Loreche said on Friday.

(What this means is we only need 2,000 plus and we will be at our one million dose for our first dose (as of September 10).)

True enough, the island reached 1 million vaccinated individuals for the first dose by the end of Friday’s inoculations in the various vaccination sites.

Meanwhile, fully vaccinated individuals in Cebu have now reached 666,391 as of September 9, 2021.

In order to improve the vaccination efforts in the island, it has been decided that Cebu will be divided into several sectors for more focused vaccination campaigns during a meeting organized by the Office of the Presidential Assistant for the Visayas (OPAV).

This move aims to ensure well-run and safe vaccination programs in various local government units with the main goal of achieving herd immunity for Cebu in the fastest possible time.

In the north, Sector 1 is composed of Liloan to Danao City and Camotes Island. The other sectors are Sector 2 (Carmen to Sogod); Sector 3 (Borbon to Bogo); Sector 4 (Medellin, Daanbantayan and Bantayan Island); Sector 5 (San Remegio to Tuburan); and Sector 6 Balamban and Asturias).

In the south, Sector 1 comprised of City of Naga to Carcar; Sector 2 (Sibonga to Dalaguete; Sector 3 (Alcoy to Oslob); Sector 4 (Samboan to Malabuyoc); Sector 5 (Alegria to Alcantara); Sector 6 (Ronda to Barili); and Sector 7 Aloguinsan to Toledo City).

One of the challenges the island faces is the lack of personnel that has hampered the implementation of the vaccination program in various LGUs.

This is solved by the committment of the volunteer medical doctors, medical auxiliary teams (composed of medical students and interns), nurses groups, paramedical groups, civic organizations, chambers of commerce and religious organizations.

The volunteers would man the various sectors in the northern and southern parts of Cebu.

According to a report of the Visayas COVID-19 Vaccination Operations Center (VVOC), Metro Cebu LGUs are now collectively nearing the halfway mark for administered first dose as their combined Vaccination Coverage Rate (VCR) has now reached 49.31 percent as of September 9.

Two of the LGUs in Metro Cebu have already breached the halfway mark for the first dose including Mandaue City which have administered the first dose to 57.89 percent of the eligible population and Consolacion having reached 53.18 percent for the first dose.

Metro Cebu LGUs reached a combined 31.94 percent of their approximately 1.7 million Eligible Population who have been fully vaccinated, the VVOC report showed.

Mandaue City leads with 42.35 percent of the eligible population already fully vaccinated, more than halfway to the 70 percent needed to achieve herd immunity. Meanwhile, the City of Naga is second at 33.77 percent fully vaccinated individuals.

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