City Mayor John Geesnell Yap II thanked all the people who willingly submitted to be vaccinated during the National Vaccination Days dubbed as “Bayanihan Bakunahan: Ligtas. Lakas. Buong Pinas” held from Nov. 29 to Dec. 2, 2021, in the Island City Mall, Bohol Quality Mall, and Alturas Mall.
The massive vaccination rollout aimed to increase vaccine coverage and mobilize stakeholders from every sector to support the national government’s goal of reaching herd immunity.
Mayor Yap said that the City Government is fully committed to be part of the solution for this pandemic.
“In support of the initiative of the National Government, we also intensified our vaccination drive here in Tagbilaran. In fact our efforts have been recognized from all over, being ranked as #1 in Central Visayas in terms of vaccinated individuals, and ranked #4 outside of Metro Manila,” Mayor Yap emphasized.
City Health Spokesperson Robin Reyes Culpa said the three-day vaccination drive exceeded the City Health Office’s (CHO) target which was pegged at 6,938. After the 3-day rollout, the CHO administered around 11,122 Coeonavirus disease (Covid) vaccines.
Department of Health (DOH) Undersecretary Dr. Maria Rosario Vergeire in an interview said, “Protecting our health through vaccination will increase our confidence to go out and see our loved ones this Christmas, as well as ensure a safe return to work. So we encourage every eligible individual, especially our lolo and lola, and our loved ones who have underlying medical conditions who are not yet vaccinated, to take advantage of these National Vaccination Days and get your jabs done.”
Reports in the U.S. say that over 93% of Covid deaths were among the unvaccinated individuals. In the Philippines, an analysis of hospital data from Mar. 1 to Nov. 1 2021 from reports submitted to the DOH Data Collect showed that 85% of the admissions due to Covid are not fully-vaccinated.
Moreover, deaths and serious outcomes are more likely to happen among unvaccinated patients with over 93.4% of them dying based on the reports gathered by DOH.
While the vaccines are effective in protecting individuals from severe Covid, people still need to be mindful and constantly observe minimum public health standards as vaccines do not prevent transmission of the virus that causes Covid.
The CHO assigned 75 employees to man the vaccination sites and they were augmented by a 25-strong volunteer team. The City Government also offered drive-thru vaccination for tricycle and public utility vehicle drivers at the City Hall grounds on Nov. 30, 2021.