The governors of Western Visayas will sign a vaccination plan with the national government led by Secretary Carlito Galvez and COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers on Sunday, former Rep. Alfredo Abelardo Benitez, Negros Occidental economic consultant, said today, January 15.
“As one region we will be signifying how many doses we will need…and do a symbolic signing,” Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson also said.
Lacson pointed out that Galvez, the COVID-19 vaccine czar, earlier informed the governors that the national government will fund the vaccines for 70 percent of the country’s population
“We will signify that Negros Occidental will need 3 million doses that are roughly 70 percent of the population or about 1.5 million individuals,” he said.
The 3 million doses are estimated to cost about P1.6 billion.
The national government announced that it has secured 148 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines that would cover about 74 million people or roughly 70 percent of the country’s population, Lacson.
Lacson said during a League of Governors of the Philippines meeting with Galvez, they were told that nobody can be forced to be inoculated.
The national government is also encouraging the provincial governments to consolidate the orders of the local governments in their areas, Lacson said.
Lacson said it was also pointed out that even if a person has been vaccinated, he or she still needs to observe minimum health protocols.
“It is not clear how long the COVID-19 vaccines will be effective, whether they will provide protection for a year or more,” he said.
The governor again reiterated the need for the public to continue to observe COVID-19 health protocols, especially with one person already having tested positive for the UK variant of COVID-19 in Metro Manila, which is more contagious.
He also noted that COVID-19 cases in Negros Occidental have dropped from 120 to 111.
There have been no new COVID-19 cases in Negros Occidental for two days, the Department of Health reported today, January 15.*