City officials are not giving up in reaching as many people to vaccinate against the Covid-19.
Alongside the continuing information campaign about the benefits, myths, and facts about vaccination, Mayor Benjamin Magalong has come up with an incentives program to barangay officials who can convince senior citizens to be vaccinated.
Executive Assistant for Barangay Affairs Benjamin Macadangdang said each district composed of seven barangays, which can convince 90 to 100 percent of their senior citizen population will be given cash rewards to be awarded during Baguio Day celebrations on Sept.1.
The first prize will receive P50,000; second prize, P30,000; and third prize, P20,000.
As of Aug. 10, around 5,000 more senior citizens have not been vaccinated.
Magalong said the city government wants to reach as many recipients as possible to prevent deaths stemming from severe complications of the disease as well as to curb the transmission of the Covid-19 especially with the reported spread of the highly infectious, Delta variant.
The Cordillera has recently registered its first Delta variant case in Pudtol, Apayao.
But Magalong said there might be other cases in the region that might not have been documented because the Philippine Genome Center only selects samples to be tested.
Magalong has renewed his appeal to the public to be vaccinated, even as he admitted that no one can force those who decline.
He assured more vaccine brands will soon arrive, courtesy of the Covax facility of the World Health Organization.
With the arrival of more vaccines, the mayor said the city government will resume the vaccination of those in the A4 category or the working sector.
The city government has started inoculating some A4 but this was discontinued as the vaccination team concentrated on those who are still unvaccinated in the A1, A2, and A3 categories or those in the medical frontlines, senior citizens, and those with comorbidities.
Even as shortage in vaccine supply is experienced elsewhere in the country, the mayor said the vaccination team is able to sustain the daily schedule of vaccination in the mega and satellite sites as vaccines are immediately replenished by the national government.
The city government is also preparing to vaccinate those who are 17 years old and below using the 350,000 doses of AstraZeneca bought by the city government.
For those who got their first those of the Sputnik V vaccine, Magalong said the Russian Embassy has committed that manufacturer Gamaleya Institute will deliver the second dose.
He said the delay is due to improvements done on the formulation of the second dose. – Rimaliza A. Opiña
May 8, 2024
