Davao expands vaccination drive

DAVAO CITY, Philippines — The city government has expanded its vaccination drive to include essential workers or those belonging to the A4 category and members of the indigent population or A5.

At least 2,790 essential workers and 2,821 indigents received their first dose on Wednesday.

The city government urged the remaining health workers, senior citizens and persons with comorbidities to get vaccinated and complete their doses as scheduled.

“Our general assessment is good. The response of the people is very good. The commitment and compliance of the people are excellent. Since we started our inoculation program, vaccine acceptance... has been increasing,” city health office acting head Ashley Lopez said.

Lopez said they could administer up to 10,000 doses per day provided there is sufficient supply of vaccines.

As of June 28, a total of 196,886 residents had received their first dose while 41,350 had been fully vaccinated, according to the city’s vaccination cluster.

At least 26,361 healthcare workers, 10,988 senior citizens and 3,976 persons with comorbidities have been fully vaccinated.

The city government aims to vaccinate 1.2 million residents, which is equivalent to 70 percent of its total population.