Local execs in Eastern Visayas confident their constituents would get vaccinated

TACLOBAN CITY––Local government officials in Eastern Visayas are optimistic their constituents would avail of the three-day national vaccination campaign that started Monday.

Most of these local governments started the campaign by conducting motorcades to inform people about the vaccine drive. Others dangled prizes, food, and transportation to encourage their constituents to go to vaccination sites.

In Catbalogan City, Samar, city officials offered cash prizes ranging from P500 to P5,000, including grocery items for those who will join the vaccination.

Several towns in the region also offered free snacks and transportation from their respective barangays to the vaccination sites.

Other local governments accepted volunteers for the campaign, like in Baybay City, Leyte, where officials and members of its Sangguniang Kabataan volunteered as encoders.

In Tacloban, city personnel went around villages and conducted a house-to-house campaign to ensure that those who remain unvaccinated would avail of the three-day jab drive.

The Department of Health (DOH) regional office, which had set a target of 263,271 individuals daily for the jabs, welcomed the local government initiatives.

Dr. Exuperia Sabalberino, DOH regional director, hoped that with the active participation of the local governments, they could achieve their targets for vaccination.

Of the target 3.36 million people for Eastern Visayas, 1.84 million have been vaccinated.

The region, Sabalberino said, only needs to vaccinate over 1.51 million people to achieve herd immunity.

The Philippine National Police and the Army in the region have pledged support for the campaign by fielding their personnel at vaccination sites or serving as escorts in delivering the vaccines in remote areas.

lzb