CABANATUAN CITY, Nueva Ecija—The local chief executive here has called on her constituents to take advantage of the three-day National Vaccination Days to be inoculated against Covid-19.
The city government still has to vaccinate some 100,359 residents to meet the 253,926 target set by the Department of Health (DOH) to achieve population protection against Covid-19.
According to the City Information and Tourism Office (CITO), a total of 135,567 people, or merely 57 percent of the target has been vaccinated here from March 19 to November 27 this year.
Of the number, 103,818 or 44 percent of the target was fully vaccinated, it added.
Mayor Myca Elizabeth Vergara urged her constituents, including those who are non-residents but are working or studying here, to join the massive vaccination drive that started Monday.
She particularly called on senior citizens who were apparently evading vaccines.
She noted that only about 18,000 out of 32,000 senior citizens in the city have so far been vaccinated despite the city government’s efforts to reach out to them.
“So, napakakonti po nun. Sa ngayon ho magbu-booster na po ’yung mga ka-senior nyo hindi pa rin kayo nababakunahan [So, it is only a few. Other seniors are already getting their booster shots but you still have not been vaccinated],” Vergara said in an interview.
Another round of vaccination activities is set in villages next month, she noted.
“Sana po pag nag-roam around uli sa mga barangay bago mag-Christmas magpabakuna ho kayo kasi siyempre mas maganda kung itong bumababa yung cases natin ay kasabay na binabakunahan yung pinaka-vulnerable sa Cabanatuan which is of course yung mga senior citizens [Hopefully, by the time vaccination activities reach the barangays again before Christmas, you will be vaccinated because it would be better now that cases are declining, at the same time the most vulnerable sector in Cabanatuan—the senior citizens—are given the vaccines],” the mayor added.
Vergara said they classified individuals who are 50 years old and above as vulnerable so they have been provided a special lane in vaccination centers. (PNA)