Almost 16% of Tarlac folk fully vaccinated vs COVID-19

MABALACAT CITY, Pampanga – Some 167,745 or 15.9 percent of the about 1,052,419 target population in Tarlac province have been fully inoculated against COVID-19, the provincial government disclosed on Saturday, September 18.

Citing records as of Sept. 15, the provincial government said some 260,857 have also received their first doses of the vaccines. The number represents about 24.8 percent of the target population. The province seeks to vaccinate around 70 percent of its 1,503,456 total population based on the 2020 census.

It was learned that vaccine roll-out in Tarlac is slower than in nearby Pampanga province due to limited supply of jabs from the Department of Health (DOH).

In a recent advisory to its residents, the Tarlac City government asked those who have registered for vaccination for understanding and to “extend their patience” while waiting for their respective inoculation schedules.

“The supply of vaccines is limited. Only 1,000 to 2,000 vaccines are sent by the DOH every week. We also would like to remind our residents that walk-in at the vaccination is prohibited and to wait for the text messages regarding their inoculation,” it said.

While some areas in Central Luzon have already vaccinated thousands of frontline personnel in essential sectors under the A4 priority group and indigents under the A5 category, Tarlac City is still prioritizing elderly and persons with comorbidities under the A2 and A3 categories because of limited doses of vaccines.

Tarlac province registered 135 new COVID-19 cases, 57 recoveries, and a single death on Thursday.

Its active cases stood at 2,538 as of Sept. 18.

It has recorded a total of 14,539 cases since the pandemic began last year. Of these, 11,521 have recovered while 480 have died.