As the three-day “Bakunahan, Bayanihan National COVID-19 Vaccination Days” kicked off today (Nov. 29), senatorial candidate Sorsogon Governor Francis ‘’Chiz’’ Escudero dispatched the province’s new sea ambulance to inoculate more residents living along coastal areas.
“Ating gagamitin ang bagong sea ambulance simula ngayong araw upang mabakunahan ang ating mga kababayan na nasa mga coastal barangays (We are using the new sea ambulance on the first day of the vaccination day for our countrymen in the coastal areas). Malaking bagay sa kanila na sa halip na pumunta pa sa mga vaccination centers sa bayan, ang vaccination team ang pupunta sa kanila upang mabigyan sila ng mga bakuna laban sa COVID-19 (This is a new development as a vaccination team will go to them),’’ Escudero said.
The sea ambulance was originally procured by the provincial government to provide medical services and emergency response to the Sorsoganons living in the coastal barangay of the province.
The governor expressed hope that with the sea ambulance serving as added reinforcement, the province will be able to achieve its target to vaccinate at least 53,586 Sorsoganons daily from its 14 municipalities and one city during the three-day inoculation campaign.
Escudero issued last week Executive Order 32-2021 which provides guidelines to all local government units (LGUs) in the province on the conduct of activities during the three-day “Bakunahan, Bayanihan,” in accordance with Presidential Proclamation 1253 signed by President Rodrigo Duterte.
The Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) initially targeted to vaccinate 15 million Filipinos but later reduced it to only nine million due to a shortage in ancillary supplies, particularly syringes for the Pfizer vaccines and other logistical challenges.
Escudero expressed confidence the province would be able to achieve its target, saying everything has been laid out and all the LGUs have committed to the target.
“As of last week, Sorsogon has already vaccinated 60 percent of its target population or equivalent to some 356,433 individuals. We will reach 65% full vaccination of our population by mid-December since we started getting our ‘fair share’ of vaccines in October, or in less than three months,” he said.