A Catholic priest reminded Filipinos this week to get themselves vaccinated against Covid-19 even as the cases of the disease have gone down in the country in recent weeks.
“The threat of Covid-19 is still there,” said Camillian priest Dan Cancino, executive secretary of the Episcopal Commission on Health Care of the Philippine bishops’ conference.
In an interview with Radio Veritas 846, the priest said the public should continue to protect the vulnerable sector of the population, especially the elderly, the sick, and the children.
He said the Church supports the government’s health care program, especially in promoting the vaccination of everyone against Covid-19.
“Those who don’t have their booster shot yet should already get it because it is already available,” said the priest.
Father Cancino also reminded everyone to follow the minimum public health standards, such as the wearing of facemasks, the washing of hands, and physical distancing to avoid the virus.
The Philippine News Agency reported on January 17 that vaccination against the coronavirus disease is being offered at more than 3,000 healthcare facilities nationwide.
In a media briefing Tuesday, Dr. Maria Rosario Vergeire of the Health department said local government units have decided to integrate Covid-19 vaccination in their primary healthcare services.
“Currently, we have 3,697 primary care facilities which are offering already Covid-19 vaccines and are part of our regular schedules,” she said.
Vergeire cited the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao as the “best example” for such integration which started in one of its health centers in third quarter last year.
“I think around third quarter of 2022, when the Quezon City government declared that they are integrating and making Covid-19 vaccination closer to the communities, that’s why Mayor Joy [Belmonte], they decided Covid-19 vaccination should be available in their health centers,” she said.
The Health departmen has protected more than 73.8 million Filipinos against Covid-19 so far, including 6.9 million senior citizens, 10 million adolescents, and 5.4 million children.
Moreover, almost 21.2 million individuals have received their first booster doses and more than 3.8 million have received their second booster shots.
On January 16, independent OCTA Research group said the Covid-19 positivity rates in Metro Manila has already dropped from 5.8 percent on January 7 to 3.7 percent on January 14.
The positivity rate refers to the number of individuals who yielded positive results from those who were tested for Covid-19.
