DOH sets another round of special vax days in April, May

MANILA – Another round of special vaccination days in areas with low inoculation coverage is set in April and May, a health official said Tuesday.

In an online media forum, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said there would be social mobilization activities about Covid-19 vaccination in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). The region has covered only 28 percent of its target population as of April 10.

The special vaccination days will be held in:

• Soccsksargen, Negros Oriental, and Negros Occidental on April 20 to 22
• Marawi City on May 5 to 7
• Lamitan City and Sulu on May 11 to 13
• Basilan on May 11 to 13 and May 16 to 18
• Lanao del Sur from May 16 to 20
• Maguindanao on May 17 to 19
• Tawi-Tawi from May 18 to 20
• Palawan from April 25 to 26

“Paalala po sa ating mga kababayang Muslim, na hindi po ipinagbabawal ang pagbabakuna ngayong panahon ng Ramadan. Ayon ito sa (Reminder to our Muslim fellowmen, vaccination is not prohibited during the Ramadan season. This is according to the) Office of the Bangsamoro Mufti,” Vergeire said.

As of April 18, more than 67 million individuals are fully vaccinated against Covid-19.

About 1.5 million children aged 5 to 11 years old and 9.1 million children adolescents are fully vaccinated.

“Nasa 12.7 million indibidwal na ang atin pong nabigyan ng booster shots (The number of individuals who have received their booster shots already reached 12.7 million),” Veregeire said.

So far, there are 36 million eligible individuals who have not received their booster shots.

In its weekly bulletin Monday, the Department of Health reported that 74.28 percent of the country’s target population has been vaccinated against Covid-19.

BARMM goal

Ministry of the Interior and Local Government chief, Naguib Sinarimbo, said BARMM targets to increase fully vaccinated residents to up to 1.4 million individuals in its five provinces,

Speaking at the Laging Handa public briefing on Tuesday, Sinarimbo said the BARMM government will administer at least 215,776 doses during the special vaccination days and will open more sites.

“Sa ngayon ho ay ang gagawin ho ng regional government ay una, incentivize natin iyong pagpapabakuna. Pangalawa ay dadamihan ho natin ang mga vaccination center (So what the regional government will do first is to incentivize the vaccination. Second is to increase our vaccination centers),” he said.

Congregation and prayer areas may be used as inoculation hubs.

Among the 17 regions nationwide, the BARMM has the least number of the vaccinated population against Covid-19, with only 27 percent fully vaccinated out of the three million goal, as of last count.

Among the reasons are vaccine hesitancy and location, according to Sinarimbo.

“Talagang may mga area na malalayo, na mahirap i-access, kaya nagkakaroon tayo ng challenge din doon sa pagbabakuna (There are really areas that are far away and are hard to access that’s why we are having challenges in our vaccination),” he said.