COVID-19 JAB. An employee of the Negros Occidental provincial government gets inoculated against Covid-19 at the vaccination site inside the Negros Residences in Bacolod City in 2021. Some 1.385 million Negrenses have been fully vaccinated as of July 16, 2022, data of the Provincial Health Office on Friday (July 22) showed. (PNA Bacolod file photo)
BACOLOD CITY – The province of Negros Occidental has fully vaccinated some 1.385 million of its residents against the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) as of July 16, data of the Provincial Health Office (PHO) on Friday showed.
The figure represents 66.04 percent of the target 2.098 million vaccinees, or 80 percent of the province’s 2.62 million population, set by the Department of Health.
Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz II said the province can only do so much to convince its people to have themselves vaccinated against Covid-19.
“Still, we vaccinate anybody who wants and needs to be vaccinated. Those who don’t want to be vaccinated, you cannot impose it against their will,” he told reporters.
Diaz said local government units (LGUs) with low vaccination coverage rates would not improve their alert level, thus the movement of their residents would still be restricted.
“It’s their loss when it comes to economic and social activities. They will remain in Alert Level 2 because of their vaccination status,” he added.
Some 1.497 million Negrenses, or 71.37 percent of the target, have availed of the first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine.
Currently, only 13 of the 32 cities and municipalities in Negros Occidental, including this capital city, are under Alert Level 1, the lowest category in the country’s Covid-19 alert level system.
These include the cities of Sagay, Victorias, La Carlota, Cadiz and Talisay as well as the municipalities of E.B. Magalona, Pulupandan, San Enrique, Candoni, Pontevedra, Valladolid, and Ilog.
All these LGUs along with Murcia town have already fully vaccinated more than 70 percent of the target population.
The five LGUs that have fully vaccinated between 60 and 70 percent of their residents include the cities of Bago, Silay, Escalante, Himamaylan, and La Castellana. (PNA)
