Cagayan de Oro continues vaccination drive after ‘deadline’

CAGAYAN DE ORO, Philippines ― The COVID-19 vaccination campaign in Cagayan de Oro has continued even after the December 31 deadline health officials announced late last year.

City health officer Dr. Rachel Dilla told Rappler on Friday, January 6, that the December 31 deadline was only set to give health workers a breather.

“We did not stop vaccinating people. We just gave our health workers their much-deserved break,” said Dilla.

In late 2022, CHO Immunization Program coordinator Dr. Ina Grace Chiu said the Department of Health (DOH) issued an advisory that the nationwide vaccination program would end a day before the new year.

During a meeting with other health professionals in Northern Mindanao, Dilla said the DOH-10 (Northern Mindanao) denied that there was a deadline.

“One health professional from Bukidnon asked DOH-10 during our meeting to be issued a memo to continue the vaccination program in their province. The official from DOH-10 replied that although they have not issued a deadline, they will issue a memo to continue with the inoculation,” Dilla said.

She, however, said the city government’s supplies for the mass vaccination program were dwindling.

With the supplies they currently have, Dilla said, the city could only administer vaccine doses until January 31 or mid-February.

“This will depend on the bulk of the people who want to get vaccinated,” said Dilla.

She said they have scheduled vaccinations in the city’s 80 barangay health centers to only once a week.

“We are avoiding wastage. Each vial could inoculate nine to 10 individuals. So, if there will only be one person who wants to get vaccinated in a certain barangay health center, the entire vial will go to waste,” she said.

Aside from the barangay health centers, Dilla said the CHO and DOH-10 were collaborating on a mass vaccination campaign from January 7 to 8.

The vaccination sites would be at Ororama Department Store near the Cogon public market, SM-Uptown mall, and City Mall in Barangay Iponan. The three vaccination centers will be open from 9 am to 5 pm.

Dilla said residents of urban barangays can also get vaccinated at the CHO on Hayes Street from 8 am to 5 pm, Mondays to Fridays.

Meanwhile, Cebu Pacific, said it has airlifted more than 80 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines across the country since 2021, and Cagayan de Oro received the second-highest number of these.

“With 4 million vaccine doses to date, Legazpi has received the highest number of vaccine shipments, followed by Cagayan de Oro, Tacloban, Cotabato, and Zamboanga,” Cebu Pacific said in a statement.

From January to December 19, 2022, the airline delivered vaccines to 31 provinces in the country. – Rappler.com