CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – The local government here will implement new vaccination strategies against the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) to improve the immunization output in the city.
“We are strategizing our vaccination efforts here in the city for us to address those missing numbers of our first dose target.” Dr. Ted Yu Jr. the city health office (CHO) medical officer, said in an online briefer on Friday.
Yu said the city government will start the house-to-house Covid-19 vaccination for senior citizens, as well as in bus terminals for other priority groups on March 7.
Yu clarified that the house-to-house vaccination, through the city’s Covid-19 mobile vaccination team, will cater to non-ambulatory senior citizens.
Meanwhile, the vaccination in bus terminals, particularly in the Westbound Bus Terminal in Barangay Bulua, and the Agora Integrated Bus Terminal in Barangay Lapasan, will cater to individuals aged 12 years old and above with no comorbidities.
Yu said the city’s Covid-19 vaccination team will be conducting a dry run for the vaccination in bus terminals on Saturday for an anticipated smooth rollout and to identify possible challenges that may arise during the activity.
The city government will also start the drive-thru vaccination which will be held in SM Uptown and Downtown Premier to cater to senior citizens who are having difficulty getting out of their vehicles.
As of March 3, the city has already recorded 533,577 fully vaccinated individuals. This is equivalent to 88.94 percent of the target population of 599,929.
Of the fully vaccinated, 103,006 individuals or 19.3 percent have received their booster shots. These boosted individuals make up 17.16 percent of the target population have received their booster shots.
Another 23,369 other individuals have been administered their first dose of the vaccine.
No vax card
When it comes to the non-requirement of Covid-19 vaccination cards in establishments in areas under Alert Level 1, Yu said they are still waiting for the official document from the Department of the Interior and Local Government on the matter.
Mayor Oscar Moreno said though that the implementation of the no-vax card policy in malls and other establishments under Alert Level 1 might affect the ongoing vaccination drive of the city government.
Dr. William Bernardo, acting city health officer, has already raised the concern to Interior Secretary Eduardo Año for further clarification.
New Omicron variants
In the same online briefer, the CHO reported the fourth batch of Omicron variant cases here that involved three returning overseas Filipinos (ROFs).
Yu said the ROFs comprised a male and two female residents from this city, particularly in the villages of Bugo, Lapasan, and Iponan.
Samples of the three new Omicron cases underwent testing at the Philippine Genome Center in Manila from January 14 to 16.
The CHO received the results on February 28.
“Out of the three, two are certified recovered and the other one has a negative RT-PCR test, and all of them are fully vaccinated,” Yu said.
The CHO has recorded a total of 10 close contacts of the ROFs and they are currently under monitoring with the help of the respective barangay health emergency response teams for possible flu-like symptoms.
Overall, the city government has recorded a total of 47 Omicron variant cases, of which 42 were tagged in this city, while the five others are re-tagged cases. (PNA)
