Bacolod City – The provincial government of Negros Occidental, through its Provincial Health Office, is strengthening its advocacy awareness, and admitted a continuing problem in the acceptability of Covid-19 vaccines at the local level.
While the national government is distributing vaccines according to the utilization needs of local government units, Provincial Health Officer, Dr. Ernell Tumimbang, expressed concern that there will be a shortage of people to be inoculated.
Tumimbang said the provincial government has already submitted its target of one million Negrenses for vaccination.
“I hope we will be able to address the vaccination of one million Negrenses,” he added.
The PHO started the vaccination rollout yesterday for the remaining 1,000 employees of the provincial government, at the Negros Residences in Bacolod City. More than 2,000 others, who are medical frontliners, already had their first and second doses.
Tumimbang said they are targeting to inoculate 1,500 to 2,000 workers, including personnel of the Department of Interior and Local Government, Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, National Bureau of Investigation, and of the Bureau of Immigration and Deportation, among other national government agencies in the province, by June 4. “As long as there are vaccines available, we will cater to their needs,” Tumimbang said. (Gilbert Bayoran via The Visayan Daily Star (TVDS), photo courtesy of TVDS)