Mabalacat City to rollout booster vaxx program

COVID-19 vaccination update, NEWS

Mabalacat City to rollout booster vaxx program

Full herd immunity seen early December

Continuing its no letup COVID-19 response and vaccination drive towards the attainment of herd immunity, the Mabalacat City local government is set to rollout COVID-19 booster shots for medical frontline workers and senior citizens in December.

**PANDEMIC BEST PRACTICES**. Mabalacat City COVID-19 Response Chief Implementer Dr. Jose Antonio Rivera speaks on behalf of Mayor Crisostomo Garbo about the no letup pandemic response of the city during an exclusive interview with Rico Hizon of CNN Philippines. In a virtual announcement, the city’s COVID-19 response czar announced the commencement of the city’s Booster Shots Program for priority groups on December 1. Mabalacat City expects full dose herd immunity in early December as the city government exceeds its vaccination turnout from 198K target population to an estimate of 200K. (Screen capture from CNN Philippines livestream)

In a virtual announcement, COVID-19 Response Integrated System (CRIS) czar Dr. Jose Antonio Rivera said that priority groups A1 and A2 may avail the booster shots program, which is set to commence on December 1 for medical workers and December 14 for the elderly sector.

Senior Citizens are urged to coordinate with their respective Sangguniang Barangays for the registration and scheduling of their booster shots. The additional doses for the said cluster will be administered at the Camachiles and Dau Vaccination hubs.

Furthermore, the Mabalacat City-SM City Clark Vaccination Site will host the walk-in inoculation of health care personnel working in laboratories, pharmacies, dental and doctors’ clinics on December 13 from 8:00am to 12:00nn. On the other hand, frontline personnel working in private hospitals shall receive their booster doses on December 16, 8:00am to 12:00nn.

For verification purposes, vaccinees under the said priority groups are required to bring their vaccination card along with a valid ID.

Meanwhile, for the city government’s Pediatric Vaccination Program, the eligible population aged 12 to 17 years old from a total of 15 schools in Mabalacat City have already received their doses against COVID-19. With the ramped-up drive and high vaccination coverage, the city government sees the attainment of full-dose herd immunity of more than 200,000 residents, exceeding its 198,000-target population by December 1.

Mabalacat City Mayor Cris Garbo reiterated his administration’s commitment in bringing COVID-19 response and immunization services closer to the people.

“Malaki po ang ambag ng mga bakunang ating ipinamamahagi sa patuloy na pagbaba ng kaso sa Mabalacat City. Hindi po tumigil ang pamahalaang lungsod sa vaccination program nito, bagkus ay higit pa natin itong pinalawig upang ating matamasa ang inaasam na herd immunity lalo na ngayong patapos na ang taon,” said Mayor Garbo.

“Higit sa pagbaba ng mga kaso, mas nakatutok po ang MCG sa pagpapataas ng ating recovery rate sa siyudad dahil nangangahulugan po ito na maraming Mabalaqueños po ang ating nailigtas mula sa tiyak na kapahamakan,” the city mayor added.