BAGUIO CITY, Philippines — Baguio Mayor Benjamin Magalong has again urged residents to complete their vaccine doses and booster shots to ensure protection against severe COVID infection amid the emergence of new variants and subvariants.
“We are faced with the threat of new COVID variants and subvariants. The good news is the vaccines continue to work. If you are vaccinated and have had the booster, the chance of contracting severe COVID is low,” Magalong said.
The city government opened its booster protocol on May 23 to accommodate more vulnerable groups, particularly senior citizens and health workers.
Recommended interval for these groups is four months after having taken their third vaccine dose or first booster shot.
People with comorbidities were advised to opt for a three-month interval instead of the usual four months.
The city government sustained its vaccination program after posting high vaccination rates in all target age groups.
As of May 24, the city has fully vaccinated a total of 32,550 senior citizens out of the 26,963 target population, or an accomplishment rate of 120.72 percent.
For the 18 to 59 age group, 24,925 people out of the 224,818 target population have been fully inoculated or an accomplishment rate of 11.17 percent.
For the 12 to 17 age group, the city logged an accomplishment rate of 91.22 percent, with 36,704 fully vaccinated out of the 40,238 target.
For the five to 11 age group, the city posted a 34.88 accomplishment rate with 16,377 people fully vaccinated among the 46,955 target.
A total of 123,520 adults availed themselves of the first booster shot and 926 others have received the second booster.