CEBU CITY – The “Bayanihan, Bakunahan” national vaccination days in Cebu will target about 160,000 senior citizens to transition to the new normal under the lowest alert level of quarantine restrictions against coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).
In this fourth leg of the national vaccination drive, the Central Visayas region has a total target of 222,063 doses to be administered.
Dr. Mary Jean Loreche, Department of Health (DOH)-Region 7 chief pathologist, said in a presser Friday at the Visayas Vaccination Operations Center (VVOC) the elderly in Central Visayas is included in the target for the three-day nationwide inoculation drive on March 10-12.
According to the regional summary of targets provided by the National Vaccination Operations Center (NVOC), the region of Central Visayas needs to vaccinate 150,798 senior citizens in the provinces of Cebu, Bohol, and Negros Oriental, including the highly urbanized cities of Mandaue and Lapu-Lapu.
Of the 17 regions, Central Visayas has the highest number of senior citizens targeted for the three-day vaccination drive, followed by Western Visayas (52,726) and Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (51,993).
“We don’t need to assign a target for senior citizens in Siquijor because they have fully covered all their elderlies against Covid-19. The same with Cebu City because they have good vaccination records for their senior citizens,” Loreche said.
The summary said Cebu province needs to inoculate 84,034 and the cities of Lapu-Lapu and Mandaue need to get 7,076 and 537 for the first dose.
Bohol targets 23,640 and 35,511 senior citizens in Negros Oriental.
The other target is 61,427 adults in different categories still seeking to complete their primary series to be listed under the rosters of fully vaccinated individuals and the 9,838 individuals needing booster jabs.
The NVOC also assigned 212,225 individuals as a target for the primary dose series.
“I repeat, we need to review our data. Many of our vaccinees were listed in other categories but they are senior citizens. Like me, I am 60-year old but I am also a medical front-liner, that’s why I was listed under the A1 category, instead of A2,” she said. (PNA)