Areas with below 50% vax rate a priority during national vaccination drive —Dizon

The government will focus on areas with low vaccination rates during the second round of the national vaccination drive this month, Presidential Adviser for COVID-19 Response Vince Dizon said on Tuesday.

“Ang priority natin ngayon ‘yung mga probinsiya at mga local government units (LGUs) na below 50% pa ang fully vaccinated,” Dizon said during the Laging Handa public briefing.

(Our priority right now are the provinces and LGUs that have below 50% fully vaccinated individuals.)

He added that they will visit Nueva Ecija, Zambales, and Quezon on Wednesday to encourage more people to get the jabs against COVID-19.

“Para po talagang matulungan natin sila, mabigyan ng suporta ang mga area na ito na wala pang 50%. Kasi ‘yon ang target natin talaga—ang lahat ng areas sa buong Pilipinas ay maabot na ang 50% fully vaccinated by the end of 2021,” Dizon said.

(We will do this to help and give these areas support because our target is to have every area in the country achieve at least 50% fully vaccinated individuals by year end.)

The second round of "Bayanihan, Bakunahan", the national vaccination drive, in Visayas, Mindanao, Mimaropa, and Bicol Region was moved to December 20 to 22 due to the threat of Severe Tropical Storm Rai, which will be renamed Odette when it enters the Philippine Area of Responsibility on Tuesday afternoon or evening.

Meanwhile, vaccination drives will push through on Wednesday in Northern Luzon, Central Luzon, and Calabarzon, including the National Capital Region as scheduled on Wednesday, December 15. It will last until December 17.

Dizon also said that the country has “more than enough” vaccine, syringe, and other ancillary supplies for this year and these were already distributed to various areas for the “final push” of the vaccination for this year.

“Tuloy-tuloy naman po ang procurement ng Department of Health (DOH) para sa susunod na taon ay mayroon din tayong mga ancillary services at supplies para sa ating tuloy-tuloy na pagbabakuna,” he added.

(The DOH is continuously procuring ancillary supplies for next year so we can also continue our vaccination then.)

The government is targeting to get at least 54 million Filipinos fully vaccinated by the end of 2021.

During the first phase of the vaccination campaign, held from November 29 to December 3 the government was able to inoculate a total of 9,937,827 individuals nationwide.

Dizon encouraged the public to make use of the second phase of the vaccination drive especially with the threat of the Omicron COVID-19 variant, which Health Secretary Francisco Duque III warned may enter the country. —KG, GMA News