City extends free vax, free ride to Oct 28-29

The Iloilo City government will extend its “free COVID-19 vaccination, free ride” offer to city and non-city residents on Oct 28-29, 2021.

After its successful pilot roll-out, the city government in partnership with Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) and Vallacar Transit, will again offer free rides to individuals who wish to avail of free COVID-19 vaccines.

The city will open its mega vaccination sites in SM City, Megaworld, and Robinsons Jaro from Thursday to Friday. Vallacar Transit, operator of Ceres Bus Liner, will provide free transportation to and from the vaccination sites.

According to Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas, while the city is close in achieving the “herd immunity” from the virus, the overall vaccination rate of Western Visayas remains relatively low.

Hence, the city wants to extend its help to the neighboring provinces by offering free COVID-19 jabs to non-residents.

“While nagapakadto na kita sa herd immunity, medyo mahinay lang ang rollout sa region, so ang iban buligan ta man. As we open the free vaccination this coming Thursday and Friday, we hope to get more of them vaccinated,” Treñas said in a media interview on Wednesday.

Based on data from the health department, Iloilo City is leading the 70 percent target of the national government with 86.82% of its target population now fully inoculated against COVID-19. This translates to 291,004 fully vaccinated individuals.

Bacolod City came in second with 41.70 percent of its target population now fully vaccinated while other areas in the region maintained a sluggish rate – Aklan (29 percent), Guimaras (25 percent); Antique, Capiz, Iloilo (24 percent each); and Negros Occidental (17 percent).

Meanwhile, Treñas thanked Vallacar Transit and LTFRB for the continued support by offering free rides to the interested individuals.

The “free vax, free ride” program was first launched on Oct 22 where almost 5,000 individuals from different areas in Panay availed of the free COVID-19 jabs. (ERS)