Hundreds flock to a vaccination hub at People’s Park in Davao City on Wednesday (5 January 2022) for booster shots as health officials are alarmed with the increase in COVID-19 cases just after the holidays and with the threat posed by the Omicron variant. MindaNews Photo
DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 28 March) – The City Government of Davao vowed to strengthen its vaccination drive against coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the barangays to reach out to more unvaccinated residents and those who have yet to receive their booster doses.
Dr. Joy Villafuerte Head, vaccination cluster head of the local COVID-19 Task Force, told Davao City Disaster Radio (DCDR 87.5) on Monday that vaccination teams will go down to the communities for house-to-house vaccination in the hope of increasing further the vaccination coverage in the city.
She said that as of March 28, the city reported a total of 1,292,684 fully vaccinated individuals, achieving the city’s target of 1.2 million to reach herd immunity.
But of this figure, only 229,588 have received booster doses.
“We will ramp up our booster doses. They don’t realize the importance of booster doses. They might have become complacent since our cases are low. Maybe, they’re thinking it’s already gone,” she said.
She said booster doses will help to increase immunity against the infection and prevent another surge of COVID-19 likely due to another variant.
Villafuerte noted that around 50% of the city’s 182 barangays are still below the 70% target for herd immunity, particularly the barangays with smaller populations.
She said it’s important that people get vaccinated against COVID-19 and receive their booster shots in light of the easing of community restrictions that paved the way for more economic activities and increase mobility of the people.
Villafuerte cited the reopening of the Roxas Night Market on March 24, which drew a large number of people.
She reminded the public to continue observing the minimum public health standards
“We’re putting in place security measures and minimum heath protocols. Now that we’re under Alert Level 1, they want to enjoy the night market but they should not let their guards down when it comes to minimum health protocols,” she said. (Antonio L. Colina IV / MindaNews)
