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DOH deploys more vaccinators to Ilocos provinces

By Hilda Austria

August 18, 2022, 6:18 pm

<p><strong>VACCINATED.</strong> Dr. Paula Paz Sydiongco (left), Department of Health Center for Health Development in the Ilocos Region director, inoculates a senior citizen during the launching of ‘Pinaslakas’ in Dagupan City on Aug. 15, 2022. Around 1,000 residents availed of the vaccine following the program launching. <em>(Photo courtesy of DOH-CHD-1)</em></p>

VACCINATED. Dr. Paula Paz Sydiongco (left), Department of Health Center for Health Development in the Ilocos Region director, inoculates a senior citizen during the launching of ‘Pinaslakas’ in Dagupan City on Aug. 15, 2022. Around 1,000 residents availed of the vaccine following the program launching. (Photo courtesy of DOH-CHD-1)

MALASIQUI, Pangasinan – The Department of Health Center for Health and Development in Ilocos Region (DOH-CHD-1) has deployed more vaccinators in the provinces of Pangasinan and La Union to boost the inoculation campaign in the region.
 
Glen Ramos, DOH-CHD-1 media relations officer, said all the job order nurses in the regional office were already sent out to the communities as augmentation.
 
“The LGUs (local government units) got their volunteer vaccinators as per the need(s) of the community,” he said in a phone interview on Thursday.
 
Ramos said the LGUs, through their health personnel, are continuously steering their vaccination schedules and pursuing all avenues to make available to the public the needed booster shots.
 
The DOH-CHD-1 targets 90 percent vaccination of senior citizens to complete the first and second doses, and provides booster shots to 50 percent of the 12 years old and above of its target population for the first 100 days of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on October 8.
 
To attain this goal, the DOH-CHD-1 improved the accessibility of vaccination centers by bringing these to the terminals, plazas, worship areas, workplaces, and even schools to reach the target population, aside from deploying more vaccinators.  
 
It will also provide incentives or recognition to local government units that will reach or surpass their targets while ensuring enough supply of vaccines in the region. 
 
In Pangasinan, the daily target to immunize is 1,096 to reach  90 percent of their target by October 8.
 
“We have deployed more vaccination teams in various towns of Pangasinan in cooperation with the LGUs, to provide coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) booster shots to target individuals aged five years old and above to strengthen their immunization, especially school children who will be coming to school this month and attending their face-to-face classes,” said DOH-CHD-1 director, Dr. Paula Paz Sydiongco, in a statement issued on Wednesday.
 
Sydiongco encouraged anew the public to voluntarily submit themselves for booster shots to prevent another surge of Covid-19 and to keep the family and community safe.
 
As of Aug. 17, there were 445,266 senior citizens in the region who already received two doses of the vaccine while 166,552 received the first dose of booster shot.
 
Around 1 million eligible population were immunized with the first booster dose and 108,929 got their second booster shots.  
 
‘Pinaslakas’ launched on July 26 is a DOH initiative to strengthen the nationwide booster vaccination program following President Marcos’ directive to increase the number of Filipinos with Covid-19 booster shot to help maintain the country’s wall of immunity. (PNA)
 

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