The fourth “Bayanihan, Bakunahan” National Vaccination Days (NVD) Against Covid-19 officially kicked off on Thursday, March 10, with the national government prioritizing the administration of booster shots to eligible sectors.
The three-day massive vaccination drive aims to inoculate 1.8 million people before it ends on March 12, said vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr.
“Bayanihan, Bakunahan Part 4 will commence today until Saturday which will bring the vaccines closer to the people, to their homes and to their work places,” Galvez said in a taped video message aired during the Laging Handa press briefing.
“Hinihikayat po natin ang ating mga kababayan na magpabakuna na po tayo at pumunta tayo sa vaccination sites at clinics (We encourage our fellow countrymen to go to the vaccination sites and clinics and have themselves inoculated),” he added.
The fourth session of the massive vaccination drive was different from the previous three iterations since it puts premium on the administration of booster shots. House to house vaccination will also be strengthened as well as the inoculation of jabs in private and public clinics and pharmacies.
“’Yung kinakailangan pong magkaroon ng booster, magpabooster na po tayo (Those who need to be given booster shots, get your booster shots),” Galvez said.
However, individuals who will get their primary series or first two doses will still be accommodated in the vaccination sites, according to the vaccine czar.
Government data showed that only a total of 10,675,663 individuals have returned to the vaccination sites to get their booster shots out of the total 63,992,620 individuals who were fully vaccinated.
Meanwhile, around two million senior citizens (A2) and 250,000 individuals with co-morbidities (A3) remain unvaccinated.
The NVD was among the strategies of the government to raise the vaccination rate which has seen a dramatic drop in the previous months.
The first NVD was held from Nov. 29 to Dec. 1, 2021 where around 9.9 million people were vaccinated. The second NVD was staged from Dec. 15 to 23, 2021 and 7.4 million people were inoculated. The third NVD ran from Feb. 10 to 18 where three million people were jabbed.