612,137 doses of  COVID-19 vaccines administered in Pampanga’s 19 towns

FILE PHOTO: A woman gets vaccinated against COVID-19 in the City of San Fernando, Pampanga province. (Photo from the City of San Fernando information office)

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO — A total of 281,586 residents in Pampanga have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 while 330,551 others have received their first shot as of October 11, an official said Tuesday.

The 612,137 doses administered to them covered 30 percent of the eligible groups among frontliners, senior citizens, people with co-morbidities, and essential workers in the province’s 19 towns, according to Dr. Zenon Ponce, provincial health chief.

The rates of vaccination in the cities of San Fernando, Angeles, and Mabalacat are not yet included as these are still being collated, he said in a statement.

Ponce said having a vaccinated population appeared to have helped slow down the rate of COVID-19 infection in the province.

As of October 11, he said Pampanga has 91 new cases, 3,701 active cases, 40,397 recoveries, and 2,413 deaths. From more than 400 cases daily last August and September, Ponce said the cases have gone down to less than 200 daily.

The vaccines came mostly from the national government or were bought by the provincial government.

“The vaccination in Pampanga has been orderly and within schedules. The vaccines are properly stored and secured in our cold chain storage. We immediately roll out the vaccines as soon as these are delivered because I know that vaccines are life-savers,” Gov. Dennis Pineda said in the same statement.

The fully vaccinated in eligible groups should reach 70 percent by December, Ponce said.