Tabukeños are told not to dilly-dally and get the COVID-19 vaccine as soon as they can as more doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine arrive.
“Let’s get vaccinated if it’s our turn to be vaccinated. Huwag nang magpatumpik-tumpik pa,” Jandel Taguiam, health education and promotion officer of the City Health Office (CHO), said during an interview in the Matagoan Weekly program of the City Public Information Office.
Taguiam said some 4,680 doses of the Pfizer vaccine was given to Tabuk from the latest shipment from the national government. The supply is intended for the first dose vaccination of sectors belonging to the A category.
The CHO and the four health centers have scheduled their respective vaccination drives to exhaust the supply.
The vaccination covers the A1 (frontliners), A2 (seniors), A3 (18- to 59-year-olds with comorbidities), A4 (workers), and A5 (indigent) categories.
In a bid to increase vaccination rate among the elderly, a special ‘fast lane’ is designated for senior citizens at vaccination sites. “Sad to say, nababa paylang ti [vaccination] rate tayo ti senior citizens. We only have 32% coverage for senior citizens, isu garud nga dagiti kompanya tayo ti panagbakuna nakatutok iti senior citizens,” Taguiam said.
Vaccines remain the best protection against COVID-19, health experts have said time and again.
Taguiam emphasized that getting vaccinated is not a guarantee that one will not be infected with COVID-19 but it will protect an individual from getting severe COVID-19 and prevent hospitalization and death.
Tabuk continues to make strides in its vaccination campaign. Based on the latest data, the CHO and the health centers have fully vaccinated 31,620 Tabukeños, representing 39 percent of the target population of 80,683 that need to be fully inoculated to achieve herd immunity.
Meanwhile, 54 percent or equivalent to 43,896 Tabukeños have received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. By Iryll Sicnao