DAVAO CITY—Some creativity and a little cash still work wonders in Davao del Norte.
The Davao del Norte local government unit this week got affirmation that the strategy works when Governor Edwin Jubahib led the distribution of cash incentives to about 500 senior citizens who got vaccinated for Covid-19.
“I am happy that you responded to our call for you to get immunized,” he said on Monday after handing out the monetary reward of P2,000 per senior citizen.
The provincial information office said Governor Jubahib “implemented the vaccine incentive reward program as an effective way to encourage seniors to get vaccinated, since they are at highest risk of deaths due to Covid-19.”
The governor thanked the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) for providing the funds for the Covid vaccine incentives program for the elderly.
Neidel Feah Ferido, the provincial coordinator of the National Immunization Program, said that after the governor announced the incentives in August, vaccine rates among the elderly increased by as much as 1.3 percent for those completing their second dose of the Covid-19 vaccines and 31.8 percent for those receiving their first booster dose.
Since the start of the vaccination drive last year, a total of 49,829 senior citizens in the province have already completed their second dose, while 13,039 already got their first booster dose.
Ferido said that with the guaranteed cash reward, the vaccination campaign blasted off from August 1, 2022 to September 30, 2022. She said some 561 senior citizens received their second dose; at the same time, 4,144 elderly had their first booster shot during the period.
The governor assured the senior citizens that vaccination prevents severe illness, hospitalizations and death. He cited studies of people 65 years and older who received both doses of the Covid vaccine, which reduced the risk of Covid-related hospitalization by 94 percent.
Jubahib dispelled misinformation circulating on social media about the ill-effects of the vaccine, which resulted in some form of vaccine hesitancy among his constituents. The governor said vaccination is still the best way to prevent Covid infection.
“Do not believe fake news stories since the truth can’t be denied that unvaccinated individuals are at a higher risk of infection. There is a great possibility that you will not survive since unvaxxed people are more likely to die of Covid-19,” he said.