TABUK CITY, Kalinga- Personnel from the different rural health units (RHUs) and Barangay Health Emergency Response Teams (BHERTs), received their first dose of AstraZeneca Vaccine at the City Health Office (CHO) on March 22, 2021.
The City Health Officer, Dr. Henrietta Bagayao, expressed her gratitude to the Department of Health (DOH) for providing 480 doses of vaccine to the city.
According to Dr. Bagayao, the city has been provided 500 doses initially, but 20 doses went to the Municipality of Tanudan.
She said vaccination was scheduled from March 22-23, 2021 where all RHU and barangay health personnel were encouraged to get vaccinated in line with the directive of the DOH Secretary, Dr. Francisco Duque III, that all unused doses will be retrieved and distributed to other regions.
“We want to take advantage of the doses given to Tabuk City, specifically for RHUs and BHERTs, ket sapay kuma ta i-grab dagituy partners tayu daytuy opportunity ta ammu tayu met nga isu makatulung kanyatayu tapnu haan tayu maala daytuy nga virus ta awan pay garud iti agas nga directly against Covid-19 except daytuy bakuna,” she said.
Bagayao added that barangay officials are also added in the list because they form part of the BHERTs, and emphasized that although strongly encouraged, the vaccination is not mandatory.
“Actually haan nga mandatory [ti vaccination], ti bakuna tayu ket it is a choice, ada iti consent nga maisaysayangkat,” she underscored.
She likewise said that although vaccination is voluntary, health workers should take advantage of the opportunity as they are one of the groups most exposed to people and the virus.
The second dose for RHU and BHERTs personnel will be after 8 weeks. By Edward Joseph Gacuya
