CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Cebu City Health Department (CHD) assured the public that there is no wastage of COVID-19 vaccines that were allotted to the city.
Doctor Jeffrey Ibones, the CHD head, assured the public that there are no wasted vaccines over the onslaught of Typhoon Odette and no expired vaccine was inoculated to any resident.
In fact, by December 21, 2021, the vaccination for the second dose for minors aged 12 to 17 years old already resumed.
From December 21 to 24, the vaccinated individuals reached 17,000 while another 5,000 were vaccinated on December 27, 2021.
Ibones said the city was provided 200,000 vaccine doses mostly for the second dose of individuals who were vaccinated during the National Vaccination Days last November 29 to December 1, 2021.
“Wala kaayo tay first dose run kay ang target gyod nato katong mga due for second dose. Wala pud tay booster. Naa tay gisugtan nga first dose katong pregnant, seniors, ug City Hall employees,” said Ibones.
While the vaccination program has slowed down due to the devastation brought by Odette, Ibones expects this to pick up by next year, January 2022 when electricity and water supply are hopefully back to normal.
The vaccination will continue as long as there is a supply, Ibones said.
Despite the slowing down of the program, the CHD is not worried because based on their data, the city has reached herd immunity for first dose of the vaccine.
The city’s total vaccinated individuals is already over 700,000, which is 70 percent of the general population. /rcg