Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson said that February next year is a realistic target to inoculate the targeted 1.4 million Negrenses against COVID-19.
Lacson said that in the next two months, the province will exert all efforts to increase the output in the ongoing vaccination program.
The governor is pushing for the vaccination team to jab 100,000 Negrenses a week in order to attain herd immunity soon.
Another strategy is sending the provincial health vaccination team to augment the vaccine rollout, particularly in component cities with low output.
The Department of Health in Region 6 last week called the attention of the provincial government of Negros Occidental on its low vaccination output among the provinces in Western Visayas.
Lacson said he did not make any excuses to the DOH and admitted that it is impossible for the province to realize its earlier commitment of attaining herd immunity by the end of this year.
He already called on local chief executives to better their performance and urge barangay officials to create the demand for vaccines.
“We will push our barangay captains that they should not depend on their local chief executives. They should be the ones to create the demand for vaccines by convincing their constituents because it’s only in the willingness of people that we can create the demand,” Lacson said.
Misinformation is still the main factor cited by the governor as reason for the low output. “This is a challenge for local officials since they know the character and beliefs of people in their community. The barangay officials can find ways on how to bring the vaccines to the people in the upland barangays if distance to the vaccination center is the problem,” he added. — MML
