Central Visayas still needs to administer 3.6M COVID-19 shots
CEBU CITY, Philippines – Central Visayas still needs to administer over 3.6 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccines in order to reach its new target for the government’s revamped vaccination drive.
Latest report from the Department of Health in Central Visayas (DOH-7) showed that they still need to inoculate 3,635,038 individuals, aged 5 years old and above, for their second and booster doses.
“It’s still a long way to go to reach the targets for our senior citizens and the first booster shots,” said Dr. Jaime Bernadas, DOH-7 director, in a press statement.
Central Visayas still needs to give booster doses to 2,780,691 individuals, aged 18 to 59 years old.
DOH-7 said COVID-19 vaccination coverage in the region, in terms of booster doses, is still at 20.02 percent as of August 11, 2022. They are aiming to give at least one dose of the booster shot to 3,476,662 individuals.
The same thing goes for senior citizens, of which 270,679 of them have yet to receive their second dose.
Out of the 677,108 senior citizens in Central Visayas, only 60.02 percent, or 406,429 elderlies, are considered fully vaccinated.
For the age group 5 to 11 years old, DOH-7 also needs to catch up as they need to administer the second dose of COVID-19 to 569,639 children.
Fortunately, for minors aged 12 to 17 years old, the COVID-19 immunization coverage rate now stands at 97.85 percent.
“We need to double our efforts in ensuring that the opening of face-to-face classes for elementary level are safe and students are given added layer of protection afforded by the COVID-19 vaccines,” Bernadas added.
It can be recalled that President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr. ordered the health department to ‘ramp up’ COVID-19 vaccination drive.
In doing so, the DOH revised its guidelines for inoculating people against COVID-19.
This time, health officials will be determining their targets according to age groups instead of the sub-priority groups previously implemented.
DOH-7, and all of their counterparts in different regions, were given until October 8 to inoculate 90 percent of senior citizens, and make sure 50 percent of the general population, aged 18 to 59 years old, already received at least their first booster shot.
/bmjo
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