THE scheduled ongoing payout for seniors in 10 barangays this week also served to facilitate City Hall’s expanded barangay-based vaccination campaign, the City Health Office (CHO) confirmed on Monday (May 16).
“The vaccination is not only in the barangay health centers but also at the venues where the scheduled social pension payout is being distributed by the CSWD (City Social Welfare Department). We started today (May 16) so the seniors can avail of either first. second vaccine dose and booster shot. The pension payout will be done four times this week,” said CHO medical officer Dr. Ted Yu Jr. during Monday afternoon’s City Hall press briefing.
The scheduled social pension payout where the barangay-based vaccination will also be conducted are in barangays Balulang, Bonbon, Carmen, Consolacion, Lapasan, Nazareth, Puntod, Patag, Tablon, and Pagatpat. Dr. Yu told Cagayan de Oro City Mayor Oscar Moreno that they are maximizing the allocation of vaccines to fast-track the city’s booster shot campaign which is still pegged at over 25 percent of the city’s target population.
“It’s good that we take every opportunity to vaccinate every city resident as soon as possible. Our target population is 600,000 and the city’s total population is 740,000 the Department of Health (DOH) plans to increase the target population from 80 percent to 90 percent. We should especially focus and improve our efforts on administering the booster shots (for added protection)…if we are to include the 12-year-old and below, the target population should be 650,000,” Moreno said.
Dr. Yu earlier said about 310,000 Kagay-anons are eligible for booster shots. As of May 15, about 134,144 city residents received the booster shot, or 25 percent. Dr. Yu said the target population for booster shots in the city is pegged by both CHO and the regional DOH at over 524,000.
“Compared to Metro Manila’s booster shot campaign that’s pegged at 30 percent but we should not be complacent since we do have the vaccine supply,” Moreno said.
During last Monday’s virtual flag-raising ceremony, Office of Community Affairs chief Oliver Egypto confirmed that the barangay vaccination is being offered at the designated social pension payout sites along with the house-to-house vaccination and public terminal vaccination services in Barangay Bulua.
“The drive-through vaccination is also offered at the third-floor carpark area of SM Downtown Premiere mall,” said Egypto, who also chairs City Hall’s Emergency Operations Center.
Egypto echoed Mayor Moreno’s message that vaccination remains crucial in not only keeping the virus at bay but also enabling the city to achieve ‘New Normal’ status which is below the current Alert Level status designated by the national government to the city in the past few months.
“It’s also important that city residents should understand, fully appreciate and cooperate with the city in keeping the cases down,” Moreno said. (Stephen Capillas of City Information Office)
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