Ilocos Norte taps 62 sites for 3-day national vaccination drive vs COVID-19

Residents of Solsona town in Ilocos Norte wait for their turn to be vaccinated against COVID-19 on the first day of the national vaccination drive Monday. (Photo courtesy of Alfonso de Los Reyes)

LAOAG CITY, Ilocos Norte — At least 62 vaccination sites were set up in Ilocos Norte province for the three-day national vaccination drive against COVID-19, which began Monday, according to an official of the Department of Health (DOH).

In a press briefing on Sunday, November 28, John Paul Aquino, regional DOH immunization program manager, said the 62 vaccination sites include those that were established by the local government units and government hospitals.

Health officials in Ilocos Norte will also put up other COVID-19 vaccination facilities in partnership with the private sectors and medical societies.

At least 19,114 residents were targeted to be vaccinated for the province to reach herd immunity against the disease.

To accomplish the goal, the vaccination facilities in Ilocos Norte should inoculate a daily combined total of 8,000 to 9,000 individuals in the next three days, according to Dr. Rheuel Bobis, COVID-19 focal person in Ilocos.

Bobis said the capital city of Laoag will focus on giving the second shots in the next three days as the city already had a “high” vaccination rate, which is more than 100 percent of the eligible population receiving at least one dose of the vaccines.

Aquino said Ilocos Norte had the highest first dose vaccination coverage among all provinces in the Ilocos region.

Latest data from the DOH showed that at least 88.62 percent of the 431,801 target population had received their first dose of the vaccines while 61.75 percent had been fully vaccinated. INQ