DOH 4-A called on LGUs to intensify vaccination

by Lily Gut December 8, 2021 In his townhall report at the Dagyaw 2021 Open Virtual Townhall Meeting on Wednesday, November 17, Dr. Felices ...

by Lily Gut
December 8, 2021

In his townhall report at the Dagyaw 2021 Open Virtual Townhall Meeting on Wednesday, November 17, Dr. Felices Emerita Perez of the Department of Health Region 4-A the steps the government is taking in relation to its vaccination program.

CALAMBA CITY, Laguna - According to the Department of Health (DOH) Region 4-A, local governments in the Calabarzon region must step up their efforts to encourage individuals who have not yet been immunized against Covid-19.

Dr. Felices Emerita Perez of DOH 4-A stated in his townhall report at the Dagyaw 2021 Open Virtual Townhall Meeting on November 17 that up to 5,086,346 or 44 percent of the target population of 11,452,780 in Calabarzon have not yet received additional protection against infectious diseases.



She stated that Calabarzon will still require more than ten million doses of the vaccine to vaccinate people who have yet to receive even one dose of the vaccine.

According to Perez, the government has injected 10,648,635 doses of vaccines in the continuation of its mass vaccination program in Calabarzon, where 4,766,225 individuals or 41 percent of the target population have been given the complete dose of vaccine.



She said among the measures that need to be addressed are boosting demand generation or encouraging people to get vaccinated for Covid-19.

“Kailangan pa natin i-ramp up at i-convert natin sila from non-believer to believer so isa sa mga gianagawa natin na mag-encourage, gamitin natin yung mga popular person tulad ng mga artista na nagpabakuna particularly sa mga municipality, mag-advocate tayo ng mga advantages sa pagpapabakuna,” Perez said.



She said that although a large supply of vaccines is being allocated in the region, the 'vaccine hesitancy' remains a challenge to local governments where many individuals are still hesitant to get vaccinated due to the widespread misinformation about vaccine as well as religious belief.

Although the supply of vaccines continues to arrive in the region, Perez said local governments still need to strengthen the vaccination measures they are taking to achieve the ‘daily vaccination rate’ set by the government.

Based on data reported by Perez, only an average of 126,658 vaccines are injected per day in Calabarzon, far more than 50-percent of the 370,307 vaccination targets per day.

This includes the provision of additional vaccination sites, cold chain storage capacity, and additional vaccination teams that will help expedite vaccination in various areas in Calabarzon.

DOH 4-A hopes that the three-day vaccination will be successful in the country from November 29 to December 1.

DOH 4-A, in collaboration with local governments, targets to vaccinate more than 750,000 individuals per day or 2,206,000 individuals within three days in various parts of Calabarzon.

The agency is now in full swing to prepare to carry out the three day vaccination that will help them achieve herd immunity in Calabarzon. (with report from FC, PIA4A)