DAVAO ORIENTAL – The province of Davao Oriental has come a step closer to achieving its target herd immunity.
Provincial Health Officer II Dr. Reden Bersaldo says that the recently held three-day National Vaccination Days have immensely contributed to increasing the province’s vaccination coverage.
Around 46,883 individuals in the entire province got vaccinated against COVID-19 during the three-day simultaneous Bayanihan Bakunahan National Vaccination Days held from November 29 to December 1.
As of December 1, Davao Oriental has already reached 62.8% vaccination coverage, bringing the province closer to achieving 100 percent herd immunity.
Dr. Bersaldo said the province hopes to achieve the target herd immunity by early next year.
Department of Health (DOH) Regional Director Annabelle P. Yumang, who attended Davao Oriental’s kick-off ceremony in the municipality of Tarragona on November 29, lauded the province’s performance for being one of the Local Government Units in the region with the highest vaccination coverage.
Regional Director Yumang stressed the significant role of the Barangay Local Government Units in helping boost the number of vaccinees by urging their residents to get life-saving shots.
She also underscored the collaboration of the different agencies and the involvement of stakeholders and other sectors in the success of the vaccination drive.
Meanwhile, Governor Dayanghirang continues urging Davao Oriental constituents to get vaccinated while there are sufficient supplies of vaccines. He noted that while the province and its local government units have allocated funds for COVID-19 response and the purchase of vaccines, the national government has an ample supply of vaccines for everyone.
For the rest of the year, the province will focus on identified priority groups for the vaccination. Among them is the A2 category or the Senior Citizen — the only population group yet to have at least 50% vaccination coverage.
Meanwhile, another priority group, the pediatric population aged 12-17 years old, will be among the focus population groups in the next few months amidst the upcoming resumption of the face-to-face classes. Currently, there are 40,556 individuals from this group who have been vaccinated.
While the COVID-19 cases have significantly dropped, the PHO says that people should not be complacent as it continues to appeal to the public to have themselves vaccinated, especially with the upcoming holiday season.
Since the outbreak’s start, the province has suffered 287 deaths — 89.5% of which were unvaccinated while 6% of them only received their first dose and only 4.5% were fully vaccinated. PIO
