ILOILO – The 43 local government units in this province can now start administering coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) booster shots to healthcare workers.
“Ara naman ang bakuna so may ligwa na sila,” said Dr. Maria Socorro Colmenares-Quiñon, head of the Provincial Health Office (PHO).
Senior citizens and persons with comorbidities would be the next priorities, said Quiñon.
She urged the public not to choose booster shots. The province would administer homologous jabs.
“Kon naka-umpisa kita sang Sinovac, we give booster of Sinovac and kon AstraZeneca we give booster of AstraZeneca. Amo man sa Pfizer,” she added.
Around 300 healthcare workers from the provincial government received their booster shots on Monday.
As of Nov. 22, the province has fully vaccinated 490,171 individuals or 34 percent of the target eligible population. They were healthcare workers (73,844); senior citizens (101,813); persons with comorbidities (120,507); unformed personnel (125,089); indigents (47,176); and others (44).
The LGUs with the highest number of fully vaccinated individuals were Oton (23,802), Pototan (23,068), City of Passi (19,154), Cabatuan (17,456), Janiuay (16,782), Lambunao (16,461), Miag-ao (16,160), Pavia (15,125), Dumangas (15,123), and Barotac Nuevo (14,531).
The provincial government needs to vaccinate 1,448,757 individuals to achieve herd immunity./PN
