VACCINATION. A resident of the remote town of Maslog, Eastern Samar receives Covid-19 vaccine in this undated photo. The remote town of Maslog in Eastern Samar is eyeing to provide vaccines to 70 percent of its target population before the end of 2021. (Photo courtesy of Maslog rural health unit)
TACLOBAN CITY – The remote town of Maslog in Eastern Samar is eyeing to provide vaccines to 70 percent of the town’s total population, targeted for coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) inoculation before the end of 2021.
Mennie Cabacang, municipal health officer said in a phone interview on Tuesday that 55.2 percent of the target population has already received at least one dose of Covid-19 vaccines.
This figure corresponds to 2,208 residents out of the 4,143 people who are eligible to receive Covid-19 jabs. About 1,935 residents are still unvaccinated as of November 8.
Vaccinating town’s residents is a challenge according to the local health official, due to logistical hurdles.
The town, which is located 35 kilometers away from the national highway, is only accessible through a three-hour riverboat ride from the main road in Dolores town.
“It takes almost half-day of travel time for our Covid-19 vaccines allocation to reach Maslog. Bad weather and heavy rains make vaccine transportation harder,” Cabacang said.
Misinformation regarding the vaccines was also a challenge to convince residents to get protection against the infectious virus
“What we did is we launched a massive information drive to correct misinformation done in coordination with the municipal and village officials,” she added.
Another challenge is the inoculation of residents living in far-flung villages.
Maslog has 12 villages with only two being at the town center.
To reach some of the villages, officials have to hike since there’s no access road and the farthest community can be reached through a three-hour hike.
Maslog is a 5th class town in Eastern Samar province with a population of 5,463. (PNA)
