The Bacolod City government has opened its COVID-19 vaccination program to the general public starting Oct. 11, so all Bacolod residents 18 years old and above are now qualified to receive jabs, regardless of their priority groups.
The Emergency Operations Center-Task Force made this move in view of the high death rate due to COVID-19 that was recorded last month.
The EOC-TF said 168 COVID deaths were recorded in September, and 140 of the fatalities were unvaccinated.
“Everyone is now a top priority,” EOC-TF executive director and COVID-19 Vaccination Council coordinator Em Ang said in a press release from the city.
“Like everything in life, this is an ongoing risk assessment. If it is raining and you’ll be outdoors, you bring an umbrella. If you are in a crowded gathering, potentially with unvaccinated people, you put your mask on and keep social distancing. If you are unvaccinated and eligible for the vaccine, the best thing you can do is to get vaccinated,” Ang stressed.
Recent studies show that people who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 continue to have strong protection compared to those who did not get the shots.
Ang said the EOC-TF has extended the vaccination rollout at the SMX Convention Center and at the Ayala Malls Capitol Central from Oct. 11 to 17.
“Both mall-based vaccination centers will no longer have days off this week. We have to vaccinate every qualified Bacolodnon, who is willing to get vaccinated,” she added.
The city government, through the EOC-TF and the CoVaC, is encouraging Bacolod residents to get vaccinated so that herd immunity can be attained soon.
As of Oct. 9, the city government said it has vaccinated 209,382 Bacolod residents, and 148,464 were fully inoculated against the coronavirus.
Various initiatives have also been adopted to beef up the city’s vaccination campaign, including the mobile vaccination or Vax-i, drive-thru vaccination, 24-hour vaccination center, onsite BPO vaccination, and mall-based vaccination, among others. | NND
