It’s been a while since Covid-19 vaccination lines were seen in the city’s inoculation sites. But queues are back on July 31 at the vaccination station set up at Malcolm Square.
Health workers say vaccination rate increases every time there is a rise in Covid-19 cases in the city.
As of July 31, active cases have breached the 300 mark with the city listing a single day turnout of 81 cases last July 30, the highest since the city experienced a letup from February to May 29.
Cases started to increase on May 30 and had not gone down since.
The city’s highest number of cases in a day was 785 recorded on Jan. 20 at the height of the omicron (original variant) surge.
The good news is majority of the patients now have been having only mild symptoms and being managed at home sparing the city’s health care system from being overwhelmed.
Deaths also occurred sparingly and most belonged to the vulnerable groups and were unvaccinated.
Meanwhile, employees of the City Health Services Office, who among other frontliners in the city, had been at the forefront of the fight against Covid-19, finally had their appreciation moment last July 28 via an awarding program held for them by the city government.
Mayor Benjamin Magalong took time out to individually award the certificates to the more than 700 employees of the department who were grateful for the gesture.
The certificates cited their “invaluable contribution of dedicated and selfless service and extraordinary efforts ensuring that the city remained safe during the pandemic and enabled the people to adapt to the challenges.”
City Health Officer Rowena Galpo said the program finally pushed through amid the department’s ongoing ramping up of vaccination efforts and responding to the latest case surge.
Apart from the CHSO frontliners, the city has been bestowing citations on individuals, groups, institutions, and organizations from the public and private sector who made contributions to the city’s Covid-19 programs. “These citations are simple yet heartfelt. For all your sacrifices, we are truly grateful,” the mayor said. – Aileen P. Refuerzo
