DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 01 December) – Only 51,500 individuals in the city were vaccinated against COVID-19 during the first two days of the three-day national vaccination drive that started Monday, way below the local government’s daily target of 49,104 or a total of 147,313 for the entire duration, the Davao City COVID-19 Task Force said.
Dr. Michelle Schlosser told Davao City Disaster Radio (DCDR 87.5) Wednesday that the city has done its part in preparing for the massive vaccination drive from logistics, vaccination sites, and human resources.
But she added that there remain people who are hesitant to receive the vaccines due to misinformation.
“We have people helping each other out, including our councilors to Vice Mayor’s office. It boils down to the cooperation of the people. There is vaccination hesitancy. The people should be responsible enough to have themselves vaccinated. We encourage them to broaden their understanding about vaccination, so that we can reach our target of herd immunity,” she said.
The city aims to vaccinate 1.2 million individuals or 70 percent of the local population.
Schlosser said efforts have been undertaken to combat misinformation, particularly in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas like the far-flung Marilog and Paquibato Districts where health authorities are penetrating to spread word on vaccination.
“We are reaching out to our Lumad brothers and sisters who are not yet open about getting vaccinated. We’ve conducted a series of dialogues with tribe leaders, and we’re seeing some improvements now,” she said.
She said the only way to change the behavior of the people is to inform and educate them.
As of November 19, the city government reported a total of 1,010,811 individuals jabbed with the first dose and 908,101 who are fully vaccinated.
On November 30, the Department of Health-Davao reported 15 new COVID-19 infections in the city, bringing the total cases to 53,778 with 156 active, 51,840 recoveries, and 1,782 deaths. (Antonio L. Colina IV/MindaNews)