CENTRAL Visayas ranked fourth among the 17 regions in the Philippines with the highest number of unvaccinated individuals eligible for coronavirus disease (Covid-19) vaccination as of Dec. 1, 2021.
Data from the national Vaccines Operations Reporting System (VORS) relayed by the Visayas Vaccination Operations Center (VVOC) on Thursday, Dec. 2, showed that Region 7 has 2,180,383 unvaccinated individuals out of its population of 5,638,340 eligible for vaccination.
The same report showed Central Visayas also rating poorly in number of fully vaccinated persons against the eligible population for vaccination, placing 10th among the 17 regions in this measure.
Central Visayas has a population of 8,054,772. Seventy percent of this, or 5,638,340, is the population eligible for and targeted for vaccination to achieve herd immunity.
“Hopefully, with the ongoing drive that we have, we will be able to address this problem,” VVOC spokesperson Dr. Mary Jean Loreche said Thursday.
Topping the list of regions with the highest number of unvaccinated persons was Calabarzon with 3,228,620 unvaccinated persons.
The best performer was the National Capital Region with no unvaccinated eligible individuals as it had given more than 10.96 million people at least a first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine even if its eligible population was just over 9.7 million.
Loreche pointed to vaccine hesitancy as the top reason why more than two million people in Central Visayas remain unvaccinated.
Only 37.66 percent or 2,123,452 of the eligible population in Central Visayas is fully vaccinated.
In the case of Metro Cebu, however, Loreche said 73.95 percent or 1.615 million of its eligible population of 2.184 million has already been vaccinated with the first dose, while 51.90 percent or 1.333 million are fully vaccinated.
“With the current performance, we might have 80 percent for the single dose and 55 to 60 percent for the fully vaccinated (by yearend),” she said.
The VVOC also reported that the vaccination turnout for seven local government units (LGU) in Metro Cebu on Wednesday, the last day of the three-day National Covid-19 Vaccination Days, reached 93,748 individuals, the highest number for the three days despite the fact that the figures for Cordova and Liloan were not yet in.
Metro Cebu’s nine LGUs are Cebu, Mandaue, Lapu-Lapu, Talisay and Naga Cities; and Minglanilla, Consolacion, Cordova and Liloan.
For the nine LGUs, the turnout was 83,460 persons on the first day and 79,475 on the second day. The target was 87,819 persons per day.
Cumulative data as of Dec. 1 showed that the region administered 631,450 doses for the three-day vaccination drive from Nov. 29 to Dec. 1 out of its 715,473 target.
A total of 551,050 was administered for the first dose, 72,028 for the second dose and 8,372 for the booster doses.
Cebu topped all provinces with 252,087 total doses, followed by Bohol with 129,321, Negros Oriental with 78,233 and Siquijor with 6,962.
Cebu City administered 95,723 doses; Lapu-Lapu City, 43,097; and Mandaue City, 26,027.
In Mandaue City, vaccination czar and Subangdaku Barangay Captain Ernie Manatad told SunStar Cebu Thursday that there is still an adequate supply of Pfizer and Sinovac vaccines for use until Dec. 3 to enable the city to reach its 7,504 jabs daily quota set by the National Vaccination Operations Center (NVOC).
On Wednesday, National Task Force (NTF) against Covid-19 Advisory 112 had extended the national vaccination days until Dec. 3.
Manatad said Mandaue recorded 25,640 jabs from Nov. 29 to Dec. 1, which is 13.89 percent higher than the quota set by the NVOC.
Manatad said they encountered manpower problems.
“Of the original 27 vaccination teams, we were left with only 15 teams,” said Manatad, who is now seeking volunteers to be deployed in different vaccination sites.
Meanwhile, Lapu-Lapu City recorded a 168 percent vaccination turnout on Wednesday, Dec. 1, the last day of the three-day drive.
The NVOC had assigned Lapu-Lapu 9,746 doses to be administered, but it reached 16,341 doses that day, of which 11,441 were given as first dose, 4,748 as second dose, and 152 as booster shots. (JOB, CTL, IRT)