AS part of its effort to boost its vaccination rate, the Provincial Government of Davao del Norte gave out P2,000 to senior citizens who got vaccinated for Covid-19.
Governor Edwin Jubahib led the distribution of the financial incentives on Monday, October 17, 2022, to about 500 elderlies who received both doses and booster shots of Covid-19 vaccines.
In a press release, the funding for the incentives is sourced from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Jubahib implemented the vaccine incentive reward program to entice senior citizens to get vaccinated.
“Nalipay kaayo ko nga kamo nitubag sa atong panawagan nga magpa-vaccine (I am happy that you responded to our call for you to get immunized),” the governor said.
The provincial government implemented the vaccine incentives reward program, as an effective way to encourage seniors to get vaccinated, as they are at highest risk of deaths due to Covid-19.
Jubahib had been campaigning for the vaccination as some remained hesitant to get vaccinated due to misinformation. Thus, he called on his people to get vaccinated.
“Ayaw mo’g too sa mga istorya nga bisag unsa na lang... kay ang tinuod kung dili ka magpa-vaccine high-risk kayo ka. Dako kaayo ang posibilidad nga kung maigo ka sa Covid-19 delikado jud ang imong lawas, basig dili ka kakaya sa virus madisgrasya na hinuon ka (Do not believe fake news stories since the truth is unvaccinated individuals are high-risk. There is a great possibility that you cannot survive since unvaxxed people are more likely to die of Covid-19),” the governor said.
Neidel Feah Ferido, Provincial Coordinator of the National Immunization Program, revealed that after the governor announced the vaccine incentives last August, vaccine rates among the elderlies increased by as much as 1.3 percent completing their second dose of the Covid-19 vaccines and 31.8 percent receiving their first booster dose.
Since the start of the vaccination drive last year, a total of 49,829 seniors in the province already completed their second dose, while 13,039 got their first booster dose of the vaccine.
She added that with the guaranteed cash reward, from August 1, 2022 to September 30, 2022 alone, some 561 seniors received their second doze, at the same time as 4,144 seniors had their first booster shot. RGL