NINE local government units in Metro Cebu combined vaccinated a total of 83,460 individuals on the first day of the three-day Bayanihan, Bakunahan: National Covid-19 Vaccination Days on Monday, Nov. 29, 2021, the Visayas Vaccination Operations Center (VVOC) reported.
VVOC spokesperson Dr. Mary Jean Loreche said this is 95 percent of its 87,819 jabs target.
These local government units (LGU) are the highly urbanized cities of Cebu, Mandaue and Lapu-Lapu; component cities of Talisay and Naga; and municipalities of Minglanilla, Consolacion, Cordova and Liloan.
Among the nine, Lapu-Lapu City had the highest turnout at 138 percent of target (13,461 jabs vs. 9,746 jab target), followed by Mandaue City at 121 percent (9,046 jabs vs. 7,504 target) and Consolacion at 104 percent (6,429 jabs vs. 6,180 target).
Cebu City achieved a 97 percent turnout with 31,315 jabbed versus the 32,308 target; Minglanilla, 90 percent (4,776 jabs vs. 5,321 target); Talisay City, 83 percent (8,165 jabs vs. 9,880 target); Naga City, 72 percent (3,735 jabs vs. 5,174 target); Cordova, 66 percent (2,865 jabs vs. 4,368 target); and Liloan, 50 percent (3,668 jabs vs. 7,338 target).
From the initial target of more than one million, the national government lowered Central Visayas’ target for the three-day vaccination drive to 715,473 due to issues on the supplies of syringes.
The region vaccinated 190,250 individuals, 163,438 for the first dose and 25,510 for the second dose and the rest for booster doses on the first day, the Vaccine Operation Reporting System showed.
Loreche said the region’s first day vaccination turnout was very good and that the VVOC is confident it would hit the target.
“The response of the community as evidenced by the huge turnout in the vaccination sites and the preparations of the LGU is good,” she said.
Loreche pointed out minor challenges that needed to be addressed: the slow internet connectivity that resulted in the slowdown in encoding and uploading of vaccination details; overcrowding of the sites that may result in a super spreader event; vaccine preference; and the need to improve ventilation in some sites to prevent vaccinees, especially the elderly, from suffering adverse health conditions.
With the threat of Omicron, the new Covid-19 variant of concern, Loreche said the public should take advantage of the three-day vaccination drive to get jabbed and protected from getting a severe case of Covid-19.
In Consolacion, Municipal Health Officer Dr. Fe Eleanor Pardillo said it was able to vaccinate more than the quota set by the national government, in part due to the opening of more vaccination sites.
Pardillo said the town has deployed more volunteers and opened three new vaccination sites to supplement its two existing sites to cater to a large number of vaccinees. The vaccination sites are the Municipal Gym, SM Consolacion, Tayud Elementary School, Barangay Garing Gym, and Mendero Medical Center.
“We spend up to the evening. We do not have an early cutoff time in order to accommodate everyone,” said Pardillo.
Consolacion has already fully vaccinated 50 percent of its eligible population based on the data released by the national government, and the town aims to reach 70 percent during the three-day vaccination drive, Pardillo said.
The health officer further said they hope to vaccinate all individuals 18 years old and above before the year ends as the government plans to start vaccinating 5 to 11 year-old children by January 2022.
Nationwide, over 2.4 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine were administered on the first day of the three-day national vaccination drive, National Task Force chief implementer Carlito Galvez said on Tuesday, citing a 5 a.m. report of the vaccination operation system.
Galvez said 2,048,681 doses were administered as first dose and 354,705 as second dose on Monday. He said 50,771 people also got their booster shots.
The National Government aims to vaccinate three million people each day during the three-day national vaccination drive from Nov. 29 to Dec. 1.
As of Nov. 27, 35,557,409 individuals have been fully vaccinated, while 45,286,049 people have received their first dose.
The National Government eyes to fully vaccinate 54 million individuals by yearend and at least 77 million individuals by the first quarter of 2022, as well as to start the inoculation of children 11 years old and below.
The second leg of the three-day vaccination event will be held from Dec. 15 to 17.