DAVAO ORIENTAL — Crafting yet another strategy to intensify resistance against Covid-19, different offices from the province of Davao Oriental geared up to conduct a 4-day granular vaccination in the areas with least vaccination coverage in the Municipality of Manay, Davao Oriental, which aims to achieve a total of 951 jabs.
Personnel from the Provincial Health Office and Municipal Health Office brought the vaccination resources to the people of the GIDA communities from May 31-June 3, 2022.
Barangays with the lowest jabs, primarily situated in Geographically Isolated and Disadvantaged Areas (GIDAs), were prioritized. These areas have the lowest jabs due to less access to vaccination, and transportation to these areas is considered an enormous hindrance.
The said vaccination drive is the first-ever of its kind in the entire region and targeted the barangays of Old Macopa, Taocanga, Holy Cross, and Del Pilar. Health workers scoured the areas down to the sitios and convinced the unvaccinated and those eligible to get their Covid-19 shots.
In addition, a medical outreach was conducted concurrently where people could get free consultations, medicines, and vitamins. School supplies and food packs were also handed out to children and residents who got doses of the CoViD-19 vaccine.
Dr. Reden Bersaldo, Provincial Health Officer II, said that LGUs should use their resources to persuade the unvaccinated and booster-eligible population to vaccinate as a preventive measure against a more transmissible variant and possible community transmission.
With the outpour of support from the LGU of Davao Oriental headed by Governor Nelson L. Dayanghirang and the partner agencies, the PHO and PDOHO plan to conduct the same granular vaccination in the municipalities of Banaybanay and Lupon to improve their vaccination accomplishment and eventually achieve herd immunity in the entire province.
Marecil Bejarin, a mother of two from Sitio Libuac in Barangay Old Macopa, shared how thankful she is for the opportunity to be vaccinated near her home to protect herself and her family from the threats of Covid-19.
Bejarin and other mothers in the barangay also noted how the vaccination was helpful in their community as parents can confidently send their children to school with the resumption of face-to-face classes.
Aside from the crucial roles of the Provincial Health Office (PHO), the Provincial Department of Health Office (PDOHO) of Davao Oriental, and the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office (PSWDO), other agencies and stakeholders also took part to contribute on the vaccination’s success including the support from the MLGU of Manay, NCIP, DILG, DepEd and the men-in-uniform from the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP).
As of June 2, 2022, Manay is now at 62.9% in its vaccination coverage for the first dose, while the Municipality of Banaybanay sits at 67.6% and the Municipality of Lupon with 68.2%. Other municipalities and the City of Mati have already reached 70%-80% coverage in the first dose.
Overall, the province of Davao Oriental has already covered 76.9% or 381,238 individuals inoculated with the first dose of the target population, which is 495,955 (80.67% of the total population). Meanwhile, 346,193 individuals, or 69.8%, are already fully vaccinated. By Rez Pann, Photos by Mark Oliver Alvite
