Adhering to the principle of humanitarianism and brotherhood, or simply the bayanihan spirit, Baguio shares Covid-19 vaccines with neighboring municipalities, in case of surplus.
However, every Baguio citizen has to be fully vaccinated before moving on to other areas. This was clarified by City Administrator Engr. Bonifacio dela Pena during the media forum, the City Hall Hour, last Wednesday at city hall.
“Tapusin muna natin ang bakuna ng mga taga-Baguio po,” de la Pena said.
As of August 4, there are 241,108 registered Baguio vaccinees with 84,397 (35.00%) completely immunized. From the given number, 68,922 had their second dose while 15,475 had the one-dose J and J vaccine.
Of the same date, there are 4,000 first dose, and more than 10,000 second dose of Sinovac; 7,730 doses of one-shot J and J, and 3,060 second dose of Astrazeneca vaccines. This was reported by City Health Services Office head Dr. Rowena Galpo during the regular Management Committee meeting, attended by Mayor Benjamin Magalong and city executives. Said vaccines are now administered at the city’s mega, district and satellite vaccine centers.
The utilization rate of Baguio’s allocated vaccines is also high, with more doses extracted from the regular vials. This would result to an overshot of estimated number of vaccines for Baguioites.
According to the City Planning and Development Office (CPDO), Baguio’s projected 2021 population is 378,532, of which 85% is more or less 322,000. Said number or more individuals need to be vaccinated to achieve herd immunity. Mayor Benjamin Magalong however is aiming for more than 85% of Baguio’s population to be vaccinated against the Covid virus.
Once Baguio citizens are fully immunized, dela Pena confirmed, neighboring municipalities are assured of additional vaccines.
