Cagayan de Oro receives over 20k of Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine doses

Deputy Speaker Rufus Rodriguez on Wednesday said Cagayan de Oro has received more than 20,000 vials of the single-shot Johnson and Johnson (J&J) vaccine against COVID-19.

Rodriguez said the city received the 20,550 vials on Tuesday. The lawmaker thanked Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana and vaccine czar Secretary Carlito Galvez for the allocation of vaccines.

"With this pronouncement of Sec. Galvez, we expect more and more vaccines to be allocated to CDO. And we thank Sec. Galvez for this," Rodriguez said.

The Department of Health has said that eight cases of the more transmissible Delta variant tested positive after retesting. Of that number, four were detected in Cagayan de Oro.

The OCTA Research group also categorized Cagayan de Oro as "high risk" and still an area of concern amid the pandemic.

"Five of the eight reinfections are from our area. That shows the severity of the situation there, which has prompted the IATF to impose the strictest quarantine restriction in Cagayan de Oro," Rodriguez said.

The national government had placed the province under enhanced community quarantine until July 31, together with Iloilo province and the cities Iloilo and Gingoog.

The lawmaker said a team of the IATF is in Cagayan de Oro City to check the COVID-19 situation in the area.

According to Rodriguez, more than 66,000 residents have already received their first dose, while about 32,000 have been fully-inoculated. — Anna Felicia Bajo/RSJ, GMA News