The province of Isabela and the city of Candon in Ilocos Sur are among the recipients of the COVID-19 vaccine donations from Iloilo City.
The League of Cities of the Philippines said Iloilo City is donating 60,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines to help other cities ramp up their vaccination efforts.
Isabela Governor Rodolfo Albano III sent a letter to Mayor Jerry Treñas asking for 20,000 doses of COVID–19 vaccines.
“Your vaccine donation is very timely as our health workers from various LGUs will go from house to house even to the most remote barangays to get the inoculation done, especially to our senior citizens and PWDs,” he said.
Albano added that their province hopes to inoculate 1,252,227 residents or 80% of their 1.6 million population to achieve their target immunity.
As of Feb 28, 2022, only 10 out of the 36 LGUs in Isabela achieved at least 80% of their vaccination rate.
“We have 4.9% of Isabela’s eligible adults who are still unvaccinated. Only 10 of 36 LGUs were able to achieve at least 80% vaccination rate,” Albano said.
Meanwhile, Iloilo City has fully vaccinated more than 120% of its target population based on the Feb. 21, 2022 data of the DOH’s Regional Vaccination Operations Center.
Aside from the province of Isabela, the city of Candon, Ilocos Sur has also expressed their interest to avail of 3,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine from the metro.
Treñas received a letter from Candon Mayor Ericson Singson thanking the local government for the vaccines which will help them speed up their vaccination efforts.
“The free vaccines will be a big help for us to speed up our vaccination efforts to reach our 100% target herd immunity,” he said.
To recall, Iloilo City signed a deal with AstraZeneca for 600,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines, costing about $3 million or over P150,000 (US$1=PHP51).
Last year, the City Hall defended its decision to donate vaccines to towns in Iloilo province amid claims of politicking saying it is part of bayanihan or the spirit of communal unity and cooperation amid the pandemic. (DG)
