DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 22 October) – The local government on Wednesday opened People’s Park for drive-through vaccination to speed up the immunization drive against COVID-19 as the city targets to vaccinate 427,054 more individuals to attain the target of 1.2 million to achieve “herd immunity” by the end of November this year, according to Dr. Michelle Schlosser, spokesperson for the Davao City COVID-19 Task Force.
Schlosser said during her program “Bida Bakunado” over Davao City Disaster Radio (DCDR 87.5) on Friday that the first-ever drive-through vaccination would be limited to individuals belonging to priority list A2 or senior citizens and persons with disabilities or PWDs to make the program more convenient for them.
The drive-through vaccination is open from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. from Mondays to Saturdays, according to Schlosser.
“This is intended for individuals who have limited physical [ability], finding it difficult to move from place to place. There is registration at the site and your vitals will be checked there,” she said.
She said the site also accommodates clients on wheelchairs and those riding taxis. She said unvaccinated companions of the seniors and PWDs may also avail of the vaccination.
The city government posted on its social media page that the drive-through vaccination is an initiative “to do away with the regular vaccination queue for people with special needs, specifically those who have limited motor skills due to various health conditions.”
As of October 20, the city government reported that 843,805 individuals have received the first dose and 727,946 or 60.66% of the target 1.2 million to be fully vaccinated.
Aside from drive-through, Schlosser said the city plans to start door-to-door vaccination to look for the remaining senior citizens and priority list A3 or persons with comorbidities in the communities who are not yet vaccinated against the infection.
She added they are completing the list before the door-to-door vaccination starts.
Under Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emergency Infectious Diseases Resolution 144-D issued October 18, Davao City has been placed under Alert Level 3, along with Davao del Norte until October 31.
According to the resolution, Alert Level 3 refers to areas where case counts are high and/or rising, with increasing total bed utilization and intensive care unit utilization rates.
Davao de Oro, Davao del Sur, and Davao Oriental are under Alert Level 2 and Davao Occidental under Alert Level 4.
As of October 21, the Department of Health-Davao reported a total of 52,707 cases in the city, with 3,363 active, 47,682 recoveries, and 1,662 dead. (Antonio L. Colina IV/MindaNews)
Drive-through vaccination for seniors, PWDs opens in Davao
Source: Viral News Filipino
0 Comments