‘PinasLakas’ eyes settings-based approach

The implementation of PinasLakas, the revitalized COVID-19 vaccination campaign of the government, targets the settings-based approach to bring vaccines closer to the communities.

It underscores the directive of President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. of strengthening the vaccination strategies for the first 100 days of his administration to achieve 90% primary series coverage among priority group A2 or the senior citizens and 50% first booster coverage among the general public.

“Our aim is to build a strong wall of immunity especially for the vulnerable population in alignment also to the goal of our country to control the transmission of the COVID-19 virus,” Dr. Daphynie Teorima, National Immunization Program coordinator of the Department of Health (DOH) Western Visayas, shared.

The adoption of a settings-based approach highlights public places such as schools, markets, terminals, offices, malls, factories, plazas, and places of worship as vaccination sites.

The DOH 6 aims to inoculate 101,594 among the elderly sector in the region for this campaign.

Moreover, the agency hopes to cover 2,049,841 for the first booster dose among the general public in Western Visayas.

Data from the DOH 6 showed that the PinasLakas campaign accomplishment for senior citizens reached 1,617 and 16,018 for the general public as of August 9, 2022.

Teorima said that engaging national government agencies, local government units, and the private sector will help increase vaccine coverage.

“We want to attain the endemic state so hopefully by this time, we will be able to remove the mask mandates, the alert level system for public consciousness, and finally reopen our schools and travel,” she said during the recent Regional Joint Response and Vaccine Operation Cluster (RVOC) meeting.

She also noted that incentives will be awarded to LGUs and provinces that will be recognized for their outstanding efforts in COVID-19 jabs.

The possible awards include presidential recognition, cash prize, and mask removal for outdoor settings.

To recall, PinasLakas is also an offshoot of Resbakuna drive, the latter of which was initiated by former President Rodrigo Duterte to emphasize that vaccines are safe, effective, and free.

PinasLakas runs from July 26, 2022 until October 8, 2022. (PIA)