PAGADIAN CITY, December 5 (PIA) - The Integrated Provincial Health Office (IPHO) is preparing to hold the ‘Bakuhang Bayan Part II’ (Special Vaccination Day) on Dec. 5 to 7 for children aged 5 to 7 years old and 12 to 17 years old.
In the stakeholders' meeting held recently, Dr. Anatalio Cagampang, Jr., the chief of IPHO said that the provincial government under the leadership of Governor Victor Yu made the proper preparations for the three-day national special vaccination day.
"The LGUs through the rural health unit, NIP coordinators, municipal health officers, barangay health workers, and stakeholders are preparing to facilitate the rapid mobilization of COVID-19 vaccination services among our eligible population," Cagampang announced.
Meanwhile, Dahlia Aseniero, the Health Education and Promotion Officer/NIP Coordinator said that there are still 58,838 children in the province aged 5 to 11 who remain unvaccinated and 312,346 children who are 12 years old and above are also not vaccinated. .
"There is still a lot to deal with because many children have not been vaccinated. This serves as a challenge for us to strengthen our efforts to achieve the wall of immunity," Aseniero added.
Aseniero added that RHUs are currently focusing on vaccination in municipalities in the province that have less than 70% primary series coverage in the following: Bayog, Dimataling, Dinas, Dumingag, San Pablo, Tambulig, and Vincensu Sagun.
They also identified municipalities with a large population but a high number of those who have not been vaccinated even though they have reached the 70% target. The municipalities are as follows: Aurora, Bayog, Dinas, Dimataling, Dumingag, Margosatubig, San Pablo, Tabina, Tambulig, and Vincenzo Sagun.
The IPHO is asking for the strong support and commitment of the stakeholders, especially the Department of Education (DepEd) to help in the implementation of "Bakuhang Bayan Part II" since the focus of the vaccination campaign is on children so that they are protected from the deadly COVID-19 disease. (EDT/GCC/PIA - Zamboanga del Sur)
