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The Ministry of Health-BARMM launched its three-day Special Vaccination Days in the province of Tawi-Tawi on Wednesday.
During its first day, Regional monitoring headed by MOH Assistant Secretary Dr. Abdulhalik Kasim together with his team went to three vaccination hubs in Bongao, Tawi-Tawi. RHU Bongao has set an estimated 1,500 daily target for this SVD to reach the 70% target for COVID-19 immunization.
Vaccine hesitancy in their area has also decreased, according to MHO Dr. Muhjali Theodore T. Aliaza, due to the positive outcomes they have seen from vaccination. He also emphasized the LGUs' support for vaccinations since the advocacy of COVID-19 Vaccination began. "It is preferable for us to continue the fight against COVID-19, be courageous, and unify in our goal; we will do it because we are one Bangsamoro," says Dr. Aliaza.
PHN II Kadijah Ishmael from RHU Bongao was overwhelmed by the number of children who attended SVD kick-offs in identified vaccination hubs in the Municipality of Bongao. She said they are continuing to do their best to encourage those who refuse to be vaccinated.
Teachers from the Ministry of Basic and Higher Education, on the other hand, were present during the vaccination to encourage and support their students/pupils to get vaccinated, as well as to prepare for the gradual opening of their limited face-to-face classes.
Lastly, Asec. Kasim emphasized other agencies' efforts to assist COVID-19 vaccination, MBHTE, PNPs, and the Local Government Unit. He continues to urge residents of Tawi-Tawi and neighboring provinces to get vaccinated against COVID-19 to protect themselves from any problems that the pandemic may bring.
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The province's target for the said activity is to vaccinate as many individuals as possible who have not been vaccinated.
The activity is also being conducted in other provinces and cities in BARMM led by the Ministry of Health which will end on May 20.
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During its first day, the SVD in Marawi City and Lanao del Sur administered 3,679 individuals as the health frontliners started rolling out through placing vaccination hubs in checkpoints and house-to house campaigns.
Dr. Amirel Usman, Director General said "We've been dreaming of going back to normal, but how can we go back to normal if we are not fully vaccinated?"
"So from the MOH through IPHOs we are asking for your help in our campaign, we encourage all eligible residents to get vaccinated to protect not just yourself but your families and community from COVID-19 and its variants," Usman said.
Dr. Alinader Minalang, head of the Integrated Provincial Health Official (IPHO) in Lanao del Sur, said “Although we control the rise of covid 19 here in the province of Lanao del Sur, we are still not sure that we are safe with coronavirus,"
Meanwhile, Minalang mentioned in the press conference after the ceremonial kick-off that authorities have started a “no vaccination, no travel” policy in Lanao del Sur as the BARMM began Monday its coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) special vaccination days (SVDs).
“This is for the protection of everybody. I hope people will cooperate because anywhere you go, a vaccination card is required,” Minalang said.
Minalang said the initiative is to help convince unvaccinated residents to avail of the health services during this SVD.
Minalang said the vaccination aims to reach out to 12,900 residents in Marawi City and 50, 250 in Lanao del Sur province with a total of 63, 150 individuals as a whole.
For his part, Executive Vice President Dr. Rasid M. Paca, J.D. encouraged those who have not been vaccinated to grab the opportunity to protect themselves and their families against the virus.
Paca commended the Region office m, IPHOs and LGUs for their efforts for SVD.
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Each vaccinee received a 10-kilo sack of rice from the Ministry of Social Services and Development during the kick-off event conducted at the Bangsamoro Government Center here (MSSD).
Dr. Gina Macapeges, Technical Division Chief of the Integrated Provincial Health Office (IPHO)-Maguindanao, said that as of May 13, 2022, the province's completely vaccinated population remained at 29 percent, or 322,433.
"According to the World Health Organization (WHO), we need to reach 80% of the population in order to achieve herd immunity. "We hope to inoculate roughly 15% of the eligible population, or 166,757 people, during the 5-day SVD," Dr. Macapeges added.
BARMM Chief Minister Ahod Ebrahim said in a video message that the COVID-19 vaccine is halal and required for everyone, and urged the people to take part in the SVD to avoid a spike in COVID-19 cases in the region.
“While the BARMM has been fortunate to have a relatively low number of COVID cases, we still need to act our gain to increase the number of vaccinated individuals if we truly wish to return to what was once known as normal,” Ebrahim said.
Only 16 active cases have been reported in the region as of May 15, with 12 cases from Maguindanao, two (2) from Cotabato City, one (1) from Lanao del Sur, and none from the island provinces of Basilan, Sulu, or Tawi-Tawi.
Dr. Abdullah Dumama, Undersecretary of the Department of Health, commended the medical frontline workers and other government bodies in the region for their efforts.
“Ako po ay andito ngayon upang ipaabot sa inyo ang buong pasasalamat sa inyo sa pangunguna ng ating kalihim, Dr. Francisco Duque III,” Dumama said.
Dumama mentioned that there is still a lot of work that needs to be done to attain herd immunity. “Our accomplishment in the region is still at 28% which is equal to less than a million population, and we still have to vaccinate around 2.2 million to attain 80% of the 4.3 million population of BARMM,” he said.
In Maguindanao, the SVD included the creation of new fixed vaccination stations in schools, private hospitals, public markets, military camps, and government offices, which will be supplemented by mobile teams to reach out to remote communities.
Photos and Citation by Bangsamoro Information Office (BIO)
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