Zamboanga City has seen a recent decline in active COVID-19 cases. There were 2,782 cases on January 29 but it had gone down to 1,961 on February 7. The positivity rate during the same period has dropped from 45.5% to 29.2%.
Vaccination Drive in Zamboanga
A continuous rollout of vaccines is necessary to keep positive cases dwindling. The national government aims to vaccinate 5 million people during the third wave of its vaccination drive. The first nationwide vaccine drive was held from November 29 to December 3, 2021. It helped vaccinate nearly 10 million Filipinos.
Several regions lacked access to sufficient vaccines. Slow vaccination rates happen in an archipelago like the Philippines because the vaccines are based in Metro Manila. More coordination between the national government and local government units (LGUs) is needed to improve vaccine distribution.
Zamboanga’s city government is part of the National Vaccination Day campaign that began on February 11. Over 20 vaccination centers will be operational in various parts of Zamboanga City. Walk-ins will be accepted on top of those who register. Primary and booster doses will be accommodated until February 12.
Immunization for children ages 5 to 11 just began in Metro Manila on February 7. The vaccination drive for kids in the National Capital Region (NCR) will likely delay the process for other provinces and regions.
Mayor Maria Isabelle Climaco urged Zamboangueños to cooperate and help by getting inoculated. She also asked them to observe public health rules to avoid more transmissions. Climaco said City Hall’s immediate goal is to further bring the number of infections even lower. Decreasing the rate of infections means Zamboanga might revert to the less strict Alert Level 2 classification.
Zamboanga and a few cities and municipalities are under Alert Level 3 at least until February 15. The Department of Health will decide then if the classification will be prolonged. Protocols will be loosened otherwise.
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