The number of vaccinated elderly or senior citizens in Sarangani province against the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) has significantly increased in the last two weeks, thanks to its innovative pairing strategy.
Razel Bustria, the immunization program coordinator of the Provincial Health Office (PHO), said on Friday their vaccination coverage among senior citizens or A2 priority group increased by 12.4 percent after allowing them to get vaccinated in pairs.
Dubbed “Bring a senior citizen for a Pfizer shot,” she said the scheme mainly allows the elderly to get vaccinated with any companion.
She said the campaign increased their vaccination coverage to the current 30.4 percent or 10,971 of the target 36,075 senior citizens from just 18 percent or nearly 6,500 individuals before it started last October 11.
Bustria said they adopted the strategy to encourage the elderly, who are considered as the most vulnerable to severe cases of Covid-19, to get vaccinated.
She said it is important for them to be fully vaccinated at the soonest possible time so they can be protected against the highly contagious “variants of concern,” especially the dreaded Delta variant.
“We saw that they are more willing to get the vaccine if their caregiver or close family members are also getting them,” she said in a statement.
Due to the initial gains of the campaign, she said they decided to expand it among pregnant women, who are also considered as vulnerable or high risk to Covid-19.
She said they may also get vaccinated along with their husband or other family members.
Bustria said the vaccination of pregnant women is presently the main focus of their “Tutok Buntis, Tutok Nutrisyon” program, which is a regular activity of the PHO that advocates the importance of a “birth plan” or proper preparation of the pregnant mothers.
She said the Philippine Obstetrical and Gynecological Society earlier recommended the vaccination of pregnant women against Covid-19 during their second trimester and third trimester.
Bustria said the recipients may choose to get either Sinovac or Pfizer shots, depending on their brand preference.
A total of 47,963 individuals in Sarangani are fully-vaccinated against Covid-19 as of Oct. 27 out of the target 413,522, which represents 70 percent of the area’s population.
“We still have a long way to go with our vaccination so the Covid-19 management team is continually strategizing and adopting various initiatives to further fast track the ongoing rollout,” she said.
Source: Philippines News Agency
