95 percent of Baguio’s eligible population to be vaccinated

24 August 2021 – The city is targeting at least 95 percent of the eligible population to be vaccinated at the soonest possible time with the ongoing rollout of the government’s mass vaccination program to achieve herd immunity of the populace from the dreaded Corona Virus Disease (COVID) 2019.

Mayor Benjamin B. Magalong stated that from the previous target of more than 141,000 persons to be vaccinated which represents at least 70 percent of the city’s eligible population, the target population increased to more than 281,000 individuals.

He added that the city’s new target population is part of the ongoing efforts of the local government to deal with the emerging threat of the Delta variant following the 2 reported Delta variant cases in the city that was confirmed by the Philippine Genome Center (PGC).

At present, the city vaccinated over 214,000 doses of the provided vaccines where there are already more than 89,000 city residents who are fully vaccinated while there are more than 125,000 individuals that have received their first dose of vaccines.

The local chief executive claimed the local government will have more than enough vaccines to inoculate the eligible population because of the expected delivery of the bulk of the city procured vaccines in the coming months.

The city purchased more than 380,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines from the manufacturer but to date, only 10,900 doses were delivered last month, while another 17,900 doses are expected to arrive in the city this month.

Magalong explained that the delivery of the purchased vaccines has been affected on the supply side aside from the fact that the bulk of the vaccines that have arrived form part of the ones that were purchased by the private sector.

Based on the latest data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), the population of the city as of the 2020 census population is more than 366,000.

Moreover, the eligible population that could be provided with the available vaccines is more than 296,000 after removing the 19 percent of the total population that is aged 12 to 17 years old.

The mayor stipulated that the more than 281,000 individuals that should be vaccinated were computed based on the number of the eligible population that should be vaccinated pursuant to the inoculation guidelines crafted by the inter-agency task force for the management of emerging infectious diseases.

He emphasized that the local government might be able to vaccinate the individuals aged 12 to 17 years old by the end of the year after the city shall have vaccinated a significant portion of the targeted eligible population that must be vaccinated to be able to achieve herd immunity and allow the gradual and safe recovery of the local economy.

The city is able to vaccinate at least 3,000 vaccinees daily based on the availability of the different vaccines that had been provided by concerned government agencies for the benefit of the eligible population. – Dexter A. See