Health Secretary Francisco Duque III assured Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson that the Department of Health will help Negros Occidental ramp up its COVID-19 vaccination drive, including in areas where security is a concern, to hit its population protection target.
Duque met with Lacson, health officials of the province and Kabankalan City Mayor Pedro Zayco at the Capitol in Bacolod City on Thursday, November 3.
He offered Zayco assistance in Kabankalan’s vaccination drive, especially in areas where security is a concern, Lacson said.
The DOH will assist with vaccinators and transportation in areas where the province is having difficulty hitting vaccination targets, Lacson said.
Duque also said the national government will call for another massive three-day vaccination roll out, the governor added.
The DOH on January 31 said Negros Occidental had fully vaccinated 59.44 percent of its target population, and partially vaccinated 9.63 percent.
It still has to vaccinate 30.93 percent of its target, the DOH said.
Negros Occidental has a total population of 2,623,026 and its 70 percent target for vaccination is 1, 825, 370, it added.
Duque said they no longer call hitting the target population having achieved herd immunity.
Herd immunity does not apply anymore “because we have come to realize that even if you are vaccinated you can get infected”, he said.
The proper term would be population protection target because residents who have been vaccinated will not suffer from severe to critical COVID-19, he said.
Negros Occidental and Bacolod City are expected to start vaccinating minors aged 5 to 11 by February 14.
In Bacolod City about 10,000 minors aged 5 to 11 have been signed up for vaccination, Dr. Chris Sorongon, Emergency Operations Center deputy, said.
The minors must be accompanied by their parents and must present their birth certificates, he said.*