Over 27,000 of 593,081 Ilocos Norte residents now vaccinated against COVID-19

A health worker in Ilocos Norte prepares to administer a vaccine against COVID-19. Photo courtesy of Ilocos Norte provincial government

LAOAG CITY –– At least 27,455 residents of Ilocos Norte have been vaccinated against COVID-19 since the province started its roll-out on March 6, health officials said Wednesday.

Dr. Rheuel Bobis, COVID-19 focal person of the Department of Health (DOH) in Ilocos Region, told the Inquirer that the province had received 31,148 vaccines, which were given as the first dose and 13,107 for the second dose.

The vaccines allocated by the national government to the province consist of 26,095 doses of CoronaVac made by Chinese pharmaceutical firm Sinovac and 18,160 doses of the UK-made vaccine, AstraZeneca.

Recipients of the vaccine belong to the priority sectors that include health workers, senior citizens, and persons with comorbidities, said Dr. Josephine Ruedas, provincial health officer, during a press briefing Tuesday.

Bobis said at least 71,380 senior citizens in Ilocos Norte needed to be inoculated, while 2,359 health workers from the seven public and five private hospitals were eligible to receive the vaccine.

At least 5,984 vaccine recipients in the province have been fully vaccinated, after receiving the second dose of the anti-COVID-19 vaccines, according to Bobis.

Ilocos Norte would need to inoculate at least 70 percent of its 593,081 population, based on the latest population survey, to achieve herd immunity.

LZB