Iloilo City posts highest vax rate outside Luzon, NCR

By Jennifer P. Rendon

Iloilo City residents have every reason to look forward to a merry Christmas.

On Sunday, Mayor Jerry Treñas announced that Iloilo took the top spot in the highest vaccination rate in areas outside of the National Capital Region and Luzon.

He said data showed that Iloilo City has fully vaccinated 92.11 percent of its target population which is more than 300,000 persons.

“We are taking a leap towards herd immunity,” he said in a Facebook post.

Treñas said they continue to conduct vaccination programs to increase the numbers so Iloilo City can finally move forward.

“The city has procured vaccines from various pharmaceutical companies to fast-track our vaccination program and the inoculation of booster shots once it is approved,” he said.

Treñas cited the vaccination team and the community “for their unwavering support in ending this war against the unseen enemy.”

“I would also like to extend my gratitude to the IATF for sending vaccines, and the City Council and School Board for their unquestionable assistance in these trying times,” he said.

Even Interior and Local Government Secretary Eduardo Año said that “Iloilo City is a model” due to its high vaccination rate.

In the same report with the Department of Information and Communications Technology as its source, it showed that the whole of Western Visayas has 30.19 percent rate.

Bacolod City posted a vaccination rate of 42.67 percent.

Meanwhile, Treñas said they are already preparing in case the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases would give a go-signal for booster shots.

“When we are already allowed to do booster shots, we will provide vaccines in the hospitals and the district health centers. Anyone who will want to be vaccinated will either go to our vax sites, the hospitals, or the district health centers to get the booster shots. We will make it easy for you,” he said.

Meanwhile, Treñas announced that 12,629 minors 12 to 17 years old have been vaccinated in Iloilo City since Tuesday (Nov 2).

“We are targeting 50,000 minors, 12 to 17 years old, to be vaccinated in November. We need to ramp up vaccination so that we can do booster shots and minors 5 to 11 years old when allowed by the national government,” he said.

On Sunday, Treñas announced that Iloilo City recorded only five COVID cases on Nov 6.