March 29, 2024

Following the vaccination rollout of the five to 11 years old population in some parts of the country, Benguet is set to conduct its vaccination activity targeting the same age group on Feb. 16.
Provincial Health Officer I Meliarazon Dulay said the vaccination drive set at Benguet State University gym is in partnership with the municipal government and the Philippine Pediatric Society.
“Our pediatricians would make the assessment and post-vaccination monitoring for our children aged five to 11 years old,” Dulay said.
She said after the launching, the vaccination will be conducted in at the Benguet General Hospital and the district hospitals in the province. PHO would also schedule vaccination drives in the 13 municipalities.
Dulay said the province received 19,000 doses of vaccines for the vaccination of the five to 11 age group numbering to more or less 60,000.
She said walk-ins will also be accommodated during the launching aside from those who registered online in La Trinidad.
Acknowledging the challenges in vaccinating the much younger age group, she said they would take notes on how to conduct the proceeding vaccination drive during the launching.
Existing personnel hired under the Department of Health will be tapped during the rollout. These personnel are currently manning the temporary treatment and monitoring facilities and isolation facilities in La Trinidad.
As of last week, PHO recorded around 199,847 individuals who are fully vaccinated representing 51.06 percent of the target eligible population of 391,371 individuals. This figure includes the pediatric population aged 12 to 17 years old.
This means Benguet still needs to vaccinate more than 140,000 individuals to attain population protection in the province. – Ofelia C. Empian