NVOC: Some Odette-hit areas already resumed vaccination vs. COVID-19

Some of the areas hit by Typhoon Odette have resumed their vaccination rollouts, the National Vaccination Operations Center (NVOC) said Wednesday.

At the Laging Handa briefing, Dr. Kezia Lorraine Rosario of NVOC said these include portions of Palawan, Eastern Visayas, Southern Leyte, and Masbate.

“In Palawan, in the southern part, nag-resume na sila ng pagbabakuna… Also in Region 8, all areas are already vaccinating. In Southern Leyte, kaunting-kaonti na lang ang hindi nagbabakuna, they’re starting to do vaccinations… In Region 5, Masbate is also doing the vaccinations,” she said.

(In Palawan, in the southern part, they resumed their vaccination… Also in Region 8, all areas are already vaccinating. In Southern Leyte, only a small portion is not rolling out their programs… in Region 5, Masbate is also doing vaccinations.)

However, Rosario said the agency is having a difficult time getting the overall information as communication lines remain down.

Meanwhile, she advised Central Visayas to focus on typhoon response if there is a lack of manpower.

“Hindi natin sila masyadong pinu-push to deliver the vaccination. But then opportuntities, no, like example sa evacuation centers kung puwede natin ma-supplement ‘yung services natin with vaccination, it is well good, no,” she said.

“However, kung lack naman ng power, we prefer that all the efforts would be toward the response and recovery po ng areas in Region 7,” she added.

Rosario said Surigao del Norte, Siargao, and the Dinagat Islands have yet to resume their vaccination programs.

“In the same way Siargao, we really take time doon sa pag-rollout nila. We prefer pa rin na they do the response and recovery sa area ng Siargao and Dinagat Islands,” she said.

The country administered 1 million doses on Tuesday, bringing the total number to around 5 million from December 15 to December 21.

Currently, over 45.2 million individuals have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, far from the 54 million target of fully-vaccinated individuals. — RSJ, GMA News