The Negros Occidental provincial government aims to vaccinate 80,000 Negrenses in two weeks with Pfizer vaccines, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said Wednesday, October 13.
Since October 1, the vaccination drive of the province has been open to all sectors, he said.
The provincial government is also ready to vaccinate those aged 12 to 17 years old as soon as they get the go signal from the national government, Diaz said.
Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson and provincial consultant Alfredo Abelardo Benitez in a meeting with Provincial Health Office officers on Tuesday set the vaccination target at 8,000 Negrenses a day, he said.
Negros Occidental received 77,000 doses of Sinovac and 53,820 doses of Pfizer vaccines on October 9, and 107,000 doses of Pfizer vaccines on October 4, Diaz said.
Our average vaccination rate has been from 6,000 to 10,000 a day since October 5, he said.
There is high acceptance for Pfizer vaccines, which have a utilization rate of 94 to 100 percent a day, he said.
The priority will be on the mass vaccination drive but rapid antigen testing of close contacts of COVID-19 positive residents will continue, he said.
So far close to 300,000 Negrenses have been fully vaccinated, or about 13 to 14 percent of their target to reach herd immunity, and more second doses are currently being administered, he said.
Negros Occidental had 4,443 active COVID-19 cases and two deaths on Wednesday, the Provincial Incident Management Team reported.
Meanwhile, fully vaccinated Negrenses can get their vaccination cards with QR codes from their local governments, Diaz said.
Local government units should be more prompt in uploading the list of their fully vaccinated residents to hasten the release of their cards with QR codes, he said.
Those who were vaccinated at the Negros Residences in Bacolod City can also get their cards with QR codes at the Provincial Health Office, Diaz added.*