Negros Occidental still far from reaching population protection against Covid-19

April 7, 2022 by No Comments

PROVINCIAL Health Officer Dr. Ernell Tumimbang said on Thursday, April 7, 2022, that Negros Occidental is still far from reaching population protection or heard immunity against coronavirus disease (Covid-19).Tumimbang attributed this to the low Covid-19 vaccination turnout despite their advocacy campaigns in the province.He said they are even conducting house-to-house vaccination, especially for senior citizens.Records from the Department of Health (DOH) in Western Visayas showed that as of Monday, April 4, a total of 212,008 Negrense aged 12 to 17 have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19.Some 3,835 out of 81,737 children in the province aged five to 11 or about five percent have also completed their vaccination.Fully vaccinated adult Negrenses aged 18 to 59 reached 910,010 out of 1.4 million residents eligible for vaccination or about 64 percent, the regional line agency reported.Of the number, 68, 602 or about 4.8 percent have received their booster shots, it added.Meanwhile, the DOH-Western Visayas noted that 131,610 out of 269,602 senior citizens in the province have been fully vaccinated and 17,026 of them have received their booster shots.“The vaccination is so slow, it seems we cannot reach population protection,” Tumimbang said.Among the factors making the vaccination slow in the province is the upcoming elections, the provincial health officer said.Insurgency is also another factor, Tumimbang said.Despite the delay in the vaccination drive, Tumimbang said there were times that the province had registered zero Covid-19 cases. (with reports from Adrian P. Nemes III)