Dr. Bashary Latiph, minister of the Ministry of Health – Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (File photo courtesy of Bangsamoro Information Office – BARMM)
COTABATO CITY – A total of 100,100 vaccine jabs have so far been administered among priority groups in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), the region’s Ministry of Health (MOH) reported Saturday.
Dr. Bashary Latiph, MOH-BARMM minister, said 71,846 individuals from the first four priority sets – A1, A2, A3, and A4 – have received their first inoculation, while 28,254 of them have completed their two doses.
The A1 group consists of front-line health workers; the A2 group, senior citizens; the A3 group, individuals with co-morbidities; and the A4 group, front-liners in essential sectors, including uniformed personnel.
“All those vaccinated have not experienced severe side effects,” Latiph said in a radio interview here. “I want to assure the people that all vaccines are safe and effective for use.”
Out of the region’s 24,428 health care workers alone, 14,315 have been fully vaccinated while 10,113, particularly those in the island provinces, have received their first dose, he said.
He said vaccination in the region for the A1 group started first week of March this year for the provinces of Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur.
“A week later, vaccination also commenced in the island provinces of Sulu and Tawi-Tawi, while front-line workers in Basilan received their vaccine jabs in mid-March,” he said.
To date, Latiph said, the BARMM has received a total of 133,200 doses of vaccines, 12,000 of which arrived this week.
Since March last year, a total of 8,013 patients have recovered from the virus out of 8,898 confirmed cases, tallying a 90-percent recovery rate.
Currently, the region has 547 active Covid-19 cases while virus-related deaths stand at 338.
The BARMM covers the cities of Cotabato, Lamitan, and Marawi; the provinces of Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi; and the 63 villages in six towns of North Cotabato province. (PNA)
