The eight-day provincewide simultaneous mass vaccination drive against COVID-19 will kick off in Negros Occidental on Thursday and Friday, June 2 and 3, Dr. Ernell Tumimbang, Provincial Health Officer, said Wednesday.
The mass vaccination days will be conducted on Thursdays and Fridays in the first three weeks of June, and on Monday and Tuesday on the fourth week, he said.
Senior citizens who complete their two doses of vaccines will be given five kilos of rice by the provincial government and additional membership in the Negros Occidental Comprehensive Health Program, Tumimbang said.
They have asked the local government units for the lists of their senior citizens to be vaccinated and are delivering the rice incentives starting Thursday, he added.
Only 58.97 percent of Negros Occidental’s target senior citizens have been fully vaccinated as of May 28.
Monitoring teams will also be fielded in the towns and cities of Negros Occidental so that recommendations can be made on how to improve their vaccination drives, Tumimbang said.
Negros Occidental has only fully vaccinated 63.61 percent of its target population.
The provincial vaccination days are being held to protect more residents against COVID-19 and so additional local government units in the province can be de-escalated to Alert Level 1.
Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson issued Executive Order No. 22-25, Series of 2022, on Tuesday placing the cities of Sagay, Victorias and La Carlota and the municipalities E. B. Magalona, Pulupadan, San Enrique and Candoni under Alert Level 1, and extending the Alert Level 2 status for the rest of the province until June 15.
Lacson also ordered the lifting of curfew in Negros Occidental effective June 1.*