CEBU CITY, Cebu, Sept. 13 (PIA) -- With only six to seven percent turnout for vaccination among elderlies, Alegria Mayor Verna Magallon urged the senior citizens to get vaccinated against the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and enjoined others to help promote vaccination.
"Let us encourage our senior citizens and inform them of the advantages of getting jabbed and, hopefully, that other senior citizens who already got inoculated would urge their friends to do the same,” said Magallon during the Resbakuna Town Hall held Sept. 7.
She cited the spread of fake news and negative propaganda on social media as one of the major challenges for having a low vaccination turnout.
The mayor said she hopes the presence of the Resbakuna team would help improve the turnout of the vaccines, especially among the senior citizens.
The Philippine Information Agency (PIA-7) in partnership with the Department of Health (DOH-7) and Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG-7) resumed the Resbakuna Town Halls in the municipalities of Alegria and Badian, Southern Cebu to increase demand generation of the vaccines against COVID-19.
The team has already conducted 20 town halls after the one-month suspension of activities in August due to the alarming spike of COVID-19 cases with the presence of the Delta variant.
The National Inter-Agency Task Force against COVID-19 placed the entire island on modified enhanced community quarantine last month to general community quarantine in the second week of September.
This allowed the joint agencies to continue the town halls in Alegria and Badian with over 60 participants each composed of barangay captains, barangay health workers, and chapter heads of the Sangguniang Kabataan and senior citizens to encourage them to become vaccine advocates.
"Remember, we as public officials/servants have a huge responsibility for this pandemic now. Everybody's responsibility is to help so that we can stop this pandemic,” said Alegria Vice Mayor Gilberto Magallon.
Meanwhile, Badian Mayor Carmencita Lumain encouraged her constituents to understand the National Vaccination Roadmap of the national government.
However, during the open forum at the town hall in Badian, a few barangay officials showed vaccine hesitancy due to rumors and fake news reaching them about the vaccines, fears of side effects, and of finding the "right timing" to get jabbed.
PIA-7 Regional Director Fayette Riñen expressed concern over the hesitancy and said, "We came here to deliver the correct information especially to you, public officials, who are considered the persons of authority in each of your communities. We are not forcing you to get inoculated, but we hope that you would also not deprive your people of the facts. We invited you here to help us encourage others and spread the correct information about the vaccines."
Dr. Shelbay Blanco, medical officer III and head of Health Emergency and Management Services Unit of DOH-7, for his part, expressed disappointment and asked the participants, "When would be the 'right timing' to get vaccinated? If it is already too late? We do not know when we would contract COVID-19. We should strive to get protected against the virus because this is for all of us."
Lumain urged her constituents to get vaccinated especially during this challenging time.
"Please help me for the good of everyone here in the Municipality of Badian. Let us help each other to reach a new normal and be safe from the virus," Lumain added.
According to DOH-7, as of 11:00 p.m. on Sept. 12, the total number of vaccine doses administered in Cebu Island is 1,599,997.
Of these, 930,752 got their first dose while 669,245 are already fully vaccinated.
The team will continue to visit other local government units in the province to conduct more town halls to further boost the promotion of the vaccines and to constantly remind the public to strictly comply with the minimum health protocols. (idc/PIA)
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