La Union expands COVID-19 vaccination to children, college students

LAOAG CITY—La Union’s capital city of San Fernando is expanding its vaccination coverage as it opened on Wednesday, Oct. 27, the pre-registration for the COVID-19 vaccination of children ages 12 to 17 years old.

Residents are encouraged to register through an online portal or the focal person designated in every barangay, the city government said.

In a statement, the city government said residents should take the opportunity to get their children vaccinated.

It says getting its residents to be vaccinated is crucial to its goal to achieve herd immunity, especially that La Union has been one of the provinces outside of the National Capital Region that registered the highest COVID-19 cases on Wednesday.

While the province’s two-week COVID-19 growth rate had increased by 70.91 percent in the past two weeks, its average daily attack rate during the same period remained high at 10.55 per 100,000 population, according to the Department of Health.

The latest data showed that San Fernando City had vaccinated at least 50,721 residents, of which 42,868 had been immunized fully.

On Oct. 21, the Commission on Higher Education also chose La Union to kick off the inoculation program for college students in Ilocos, initially targeting 1,500 students in preparation for the limited resumption of in-person classes in colleges and universities.

La Union Gov. Francisco Emmanuel “Pacoy” Ortega III said the vaccination drive among college students is another step to “ramp up our vaccination efforts with our end goal to reach herd immunity.”

At least 40.22 percent of the province’s eligible population had been vaccinated, the provincial government said.

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