THE Mandaue City government has achieved a milestone in fighting the pandemic after 70.59 percent of its eligible population of 307,000 received at least a first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine.
In his Facebook post Thursday, Mayor Jonas Cortes expressed happiness at reaching the 70 percent milestone, which translates to around 217,000 individuals already inoculated with at least one dose of the vaccine against coronavirus disease.
“Tinuod, numero lang kini, apan kini nagpamatuod nga ang mga Mandauehanon nisuporta gyud sa programa sa gobyerno kabahin sa pagpamakuna, ug timaan sab kini nga nag hinam-hinam na gyud kita nga mabalik ang tanan sa normal,” Mayor Cortes said in his post.
(These are indeed just numbers, but it shows that the Mandauehanons support the government’s vaccination program, a sign that the people want to return to their normal lives.)
Cortes presented the programs conducted by the city to persuade his constituents to get protection against Covid-19.
These include the “Tara shots sa gabii” night vaccination drive for workers, which caters to individuals who working during the daytime and don’t have enough time to visit the vaccination centers; and public market, barangay-based, company-based and mobile vaccination.
According to data released by the public-private initiative Project Balik Buhay as of November 9, 2021, Mandaue City is the first highly urbanized city (HUC) in Cebu to reach the 70 percent mark in first dose jabs.
Around 41,000 children in the city have also registered for the pediatric vaccination that started this week at the Mandaue City Cultural and Sports Complex.
With this development, Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes also hinted about the possibility of lifting the face shield requirement in the city.
As of November 10, the Department of Health, through its website, tallied only 53 remaining active cases in the city, bringing its total cases since the start of the pandemic last year to 12,509.
Lapu-Lapu City trails in the second spot, with 69.57 percent of its eligible population receiving a first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine. And last among the HUCs is Cebu City with only 59.06 percent of its eligible population having received a first dose.
James Sayson, officer-in-charge of the City Legal Office of Lapu-Lapu, said the city is bringing the vaccines closer to the people by visiting barangays every day and mobilizing its mobile vaccination bus three times a week.
Sayson lauded the doctors, nurses and other medical frontliners for their sacrifices.
He said more people will be vaccinated soon since they will be partnering with the Department of Education to conduct school-based vaccination that can cater to more individuals, especially since the city has already started its pediatric vaccination.
In the whole island of Cebu, a total of 2,723,470 Covid-19 vaccine doses have been administered as of Nov. 9, with 1,462,250 doses given as first dose and 1,261,220 doses given as second dose.
The data was gathered from all public and private sector vaccination centers in Cebu