Baguio to vaccinate 95% folks as city observes charter day

BAGUIO CITY -- The city is targeting to vaccinate at least 95 percent of the eligible population to contain the spread of Covid-19 in the country's summer capital as local folks are set to welcome Baguio's 112th Charter Day anniversary on Sept. 1.
Tourism Sec. Bernadette Romulo-Puyat was earlier tapped as the city's guest of honor and speaker in simple rites at Baguio Country Club. 
    Mayor Benjamin Magalong said from the previous target of inoculating 141,000 residents which represents at least 70 percent of the city's eligible population, the target population to be vaccinated increased to 281,000 individuals before the year ends.
    Magalong added the city's new target population to be vaccinated is part of the ongoing efforts of the local government to deal with the emerging threat of the Delta variant following two reported Delta variant cases in the city confirmed by the Philippine Genome Center.
    At present, the city has provided over 214,000 doses of vaccines. Reports said there are already more than 89,000 city residents who are fully vaccinated and more than 125,000 individuals have received their first dose.
    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 bulk of the city procured vaccines in the coming months.
    The city was able to purchase more than 380,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines from the manufacturer but only 10,900 doses were delivered last month while another 17,900 doses are expected to arrive in the city this month.
    Magalong explained the delivery of the purchased vaccines has been affected on the supply side aside from the fact that bulk of the vaccines that have arrived form part of the ones purchased by the private sector.

Based on the latest data from the Philippine Statistics Authority, the population of the city as of the 2020 census 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 aged 12 to 17 years old.

The mayor stipulated the more than 281,000 individuals that should be vaccinated was computed based on the number of eligible populations 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 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 vaccinates a significant portion of the targeted eligible population to be able to achieve herd immunity and contain the rapid spread of the deadly virus.

The city has been able to inoculate at least 3,000 individuals daily based on the availability of the vaccines provided by concerned government agencies.

The city, in coordination with the Baguio Tourism Council, is slated to vaccinate some 4,000 workers from various tourism-related establishments from August 30 to September 1 as part of the local government's aggressive roll out of the government's mass vaccination program.

The inoculation of workers in tourism-related establishments is part of the commitment of the local government to have workers in the economic sector vaccinated with the arrival of vaccines purchased by both the national and local governments from pharmaceutical companies.

Earlier, the local tourism industry stakeholders disclosed only 454 or 8.3 percent of the registered 5,458 workers in different tourism-related establishments had been vaccinated since the roll out of the government's mass vaccination program last March.

Magalong tasked the City Health Services Office and the City Tourism Office to coordinate with the management of the Baguio Country Club (BCC) for the proposed adjustment in the schedule of inoculation of workers in tourism-related establishments so it will coincide with the presence of Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat.

The supposed inoculation of the workers in the tourism-related establishments in the city was earlier scheduled on August 29 to 31 at the Cordillera Convention Hall of BCC but was adjusted to allow Secretary Romulo Puyat to witness the aforesaid activity which is geared towards helping gradually and safely revive the local economy.