Bayanihan Bakunahan drive ends today
by Merlinda A. Pedrosa
THE second round of the “Bayanihan Bakunahan” drive will end Wednesday, December 22, and will resume on January 3, 2022, an official of the Emergency Operations Center-Task Force (EOC-TF) said Tuesday, December 21.
Dr. Chris Sorongon, deputy for medical data and analysis of EOC-TF, said that on December 15 to 17, the three-day “Bayanihan Bakunahan” drive was temporarily suspended due to the onslaught of Typhoon Odette and it resumed on December 20 until December 22.
As of December 20, EOC-TF already inoculated 96 percent of Bacolodnons and only four percent of the population eligible for vaccination in Bacolod City has yet to be vaccinated, Sorongon said.
Bacolod City was given a target by the Department of Health (DOH) to inoculate 24,000 individuals during the three-day vaccination drive or at least 8,000 individuals daily.
During the first Bayanihan Bakunahan on November 29 to December 1, Bacolod City was given a target to administer jabs to 66,000 residents, but it exceeded by vaccinating 70,752 individuals.
The City Government earlier opened 43 vaccination sites to accommodate those who will avail themselves of the first and second doses of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) vaccines.
This will include minors aged 12 to 17 years old, as well as those who will avail the booster shots.
“We are expecting that by Wednesday, December 22, the remaining four percent will be inoculated so we can achieve the 100 percent for the city,” Sorongon said.
But Sorongon emphasized that the Department of Health (DOH) and the national vaccination operation center will declare if a local government unit already reached the herd immunity.
In the first quarter of 2022, vaccine czar Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. is also considering inoculating children aged five to 11 years old and that they are expecting to inoculate 50,000 children in Bacolod.
Meanwhile, the EOC-TF will coordinate with the private and public schools in Bacolod to determine the total number of students to be inoculated next year.
Although the city remains free from the Omicron variant of Covid-19, Sorongon said this is no time to be complacent.
“Our cases are down (and) the Covid-19 attack rates are consistently on a decline because of our intensified campaign in vaccination program led by our Mayor Evelio Leonardia, Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran and the city councilors as well as our vaccination team,” he said.
