As Dumaguete scores high
The Department of Health has cited Dumaguete City for ranking 1st in the COVID-19 vaccination among the 25 cities and municipalities of Negros Oriental, for so far inoculating a total of 139,248 of its residents and workers, achieving 144 percent accomplishment based on the 70 percent target population of 96,620 (per DOH/DILG estimate).
In a statement, the DOH named the Top 10 cities and municipalities in the Province based on the percentage of accomplishment on the 70 percent target of the total population as of Feb. 2: 1) Dumaguete with 139,248 fully-vaccinated persons or 144.12 percent of population; 2) Amlan with 12,918 or 80.10 percent; 3) Valencia with 16,714 or 65.21 percent; 5) Dauin with 12,474 or 62.38 percent; 6) Zamboanguita with 11,582 or 57.16 percent; 7) Sibulan with 23,642 or 54.07 percent; 8) Canlaon City with 17,178 42.85 percent; 9) San Jose with 6,219 or 41.43 percent; and 10) Pamplona with 11,283 fully-vaccinated persons or 40.81 percent of target population.
Mayor Felipe Antonio Remollo commended the City Health Office, medical volunteers, and barangay officials for their sustained efforts in achieving herd immunity with a much higher percentage of vaccinated residents that will be a major factor in the recovery and gradual reopening of the local economy.
Dumaguete, center of trade and commerce in Negros Oriental, has a total population of 138,029; 70 percent of the target population is set at 96,620.The number of fully-vaccinated residents and workers reached 139,248, slightly higher than the total population of the City.
In contrast, the Province of Negros Oriental recorded a low turnout of individuals getting their booster shots.
Assistant Provincial Health Officer Dr. Liland Estacion, in a virtual presser Wednesday, said as of Feb. 27, only 60,821 individuals have received the third shot of vaccine since the Province started giving the jabs late last year.
“As we can glean from our records, this is just a small percentage from the total number of persons who have been fully vaccinated already,” she said in mixed English and Cebuano.
A total of 529,859 is fully vaccinated, including the one-shot Janssen vaccine, she noted.
Estacion said given that a fully-vaccinated person can have his booster shot three months after the second dose, “it appears that many people are no longer interested in getting the additional dose”.
A booster shot is necessary to ensure that the vaccine will work more effectively against Covid-19, she said.
“Do not think that the first and second doses are enough for compliance for work-related and other requirements. Let us follow the recommendation of the Department of Health,” she added.
Meanwhile, Estacion admitted a slowdown in the vaccination rollout in Negros Oriental but did not elaborate on the reasons.
The provincial and local governments are now gearing up for a house-to-house vaccination campaign to speed up the process of reaching population protection, she said. (Judy F. Partlow/PNA)
