BY DOMINIQUE GABRIEL G. BAÑAGA
BACOLOD City – Super typhoon “Odette” not only claimed lives and destroyed properties. It also disrupted Negros Occidental’s vaccination program against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
Dr. Ernell Tumimbang, provincial health officer, said the vaccination drive slowed down; the province inoculated only about 55 percent of the target population.
The goal is to reach 70 percent of the population by the end of this month.
Tumimbang also said the vaccination drive continues even in areas hit hard by the typhoon.
No less than Department of Health (DOH) secretary Francisco Duque said that President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the COVID-19 vaccination area to resume in areas affected by the typhoon.
Tumimbang also pointed out that COVID-19 vaccination in the province’s affected areas have even become more important as social distancing had been sacrificed when the typhoon hit last week./PN
