Ilocos Norte hospital gets all employees vaccinated against COVID-19

(REUTERS / file photo)

 LAOAG CITY, Ilocos Norte—The state-run Mariano Marcos Memorial Hospital and Medical Center (MMMH&MC) in Batac City, Ilocos Norte had all of its over a thousand employees vaccinated against COVID-19, the regional Department of Health (DOH) said.

In a statement on Friday, DOH  – Ilocos region said that the 1,215 employees of the hospital have already received their primary and first booster doses.

The health department cited the facility for being “role models in the practice of healthy behaviors by availing evidence-based life-saving interventions such as vaccines.”

MMMH&MC has been the primary COVID-19 referral center for the treatment of moderate and severe cases.

As of Friday, there is not a single positive COVID-19 case in the hospital.

The regional DOH had assured that as the hospital achieved a 100-percent vaccination coverage, the public should not fear the COVID-19 vaccines.

Meanwhile, the regional DOH was cited on June 23 as the “Most Innovative Region” for its implementation of the national COVID-19 vaccination deployment and vaccination program.

Regional Director Paula Paz Sydiongco said in a press statement on Saturday that COVID-19 vaccination is continuously being conducted in order to immunize the remaining population including those who need to be given booster shots.

On June 21, the DOH said that the Ilocos region was among the areas in the country being monitored due to an increase in COVID-19 cases.

The health department urged all eligible individuals to get their primary and booster doses as “additional protection.”

Latest data from the health agency showed that only 22.75 percent of the 36 million fully vaccinated individuals in the region had gotten their booster shots.

gsg