Negros Occidental has enough vaccines for the expanded coverage of second booster shots against COVID-19, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz assured Friday, July 29.
The Department of Health on Wednesday announced that it had expanded the coverage of the second COVID-19 booster to adults at least 50 years old and above and those aged 18 to 49 with existing medical conditions.
Negros Occidental has a lot of vaccines available for the second boosters, Diaz said.
In fact there are private firms requesting to donate vaccines but the provincial government needs to use up the stock at hand first, he said.
“We cannot accept more than what we need, it will be unfair to those areas that need vaccines,” Diaz said.
The provincial government will campaign for more people to avail of booster shots, he said.
“We will make the vaccines available at the soonest time possible where they are demanded,” he said.
The provincial government has also already used up the 100,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines good for 50,000 vaccinees that it purchased, Diaz said.
The provincial government did not buy a lot of vaccines because the Department of Health had assured the Local Government Units that it would province enough to inoculate 70 percent of the target population, he said.
Negros Occidental has vaccinated 75.88 percent of its target population and 59.81 percent of its target seniors with the first two COVID-19 vaccine doses, the Department of Health reported Monday.*