MABALACAT CITY— Individuals who missed their COVID-19 second dose may now seek help from the Mabalacat City Government (MCG), as it integrates a new scheme to the city’s compendium of vaccination services against COVID-19.
Heeding the call of several residents, non-residents, and stakeholders for access to COVID-19 vaccines, Mayor Crisostomo Garbo sought the implementation of the “Missed Second Dose Program”, which aims to administer second dose of COVID-19 vaccines to individuals, Mabalacat City residents or not, who have missed their supposed inoculation schedules.
“Ang programa pong ito ay ating inilunsad upang ganap na maproteksyunan ng ating mga kababayan, taga-Mabalacat man o hindi, ang kanilang sarili laban sa COVID-19. Marami po ang nagtatanong sa atin patungkol dito at tayo po ay tatalima at aaksyon sa kanilang hinihinging tulong,” said Mayor Garbo.
“Ito po ay ang ating pakikibahagi sa Universal Access to COVID-19 vaccines at sana ay magkaroon din po ng ganitong programa ang ibang local government units. Naniniwala po ako na tayong lahat ay magiging ligtas lamang mula sa virus na ito kung tayong lahat ay may pag-iingat at kung tayong lahat ay bakunado,” the mayor added.
Mabalacat City COVID-19 Response Integrated System (CRIS) czar Dr. Jose Antonio Rivera said that individuals who are eligible to register for the program are: [1] Mabalacat City residents who missed their second dose against COVID-19; [2] Residents from other LGUs or provinces in the Philippines who missed their second dose against COVID-19; and [3] Mabalacat city residents or non-residents from overseas who were not able to receive their second dose against COVID-19.
During a virtual briefing held in July, Department of Health (DOH) Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said that individuals who missed their second dose may still receive their doses within six (6) months after the first dose.
Meanwhile, individuals who are qualified under the criteria may visit the City Health Office located at the Mabalacat City Hall in Xevera Mabalacat Complex. A “missed second dose” form will be duly issued for the applicants to accomplish. For verification purposes, individuals may bring the original copy of their first dose record, if available.
“Makakasa po kayo na kayo ay tatawagan sa contact number na inyo pong ibinigay. At kung hindi pa po kayo natatawagan ay maaaring tumawag sa CRIS hotline sa numerong 045-5499-5335,” said Dr. Rivera.
To date, a total of 180,770 (87.97%) of the eligible population in Mabalacat City have already been vaccinated with their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine, and 123,061 (66.52%) have received their complete doses of COVID-19 vaccine.
During a virtual assembly held on October 22, 2021, the Philippines’ Inter-Agency Task Force against COVID-19 cited Mabalacat City as the LGU with the highest vaccination rate among all cities in the whole of Central Luzon. Furthermore, IATF sees herd immunity in Mabalacat City achievable by December.
As of this writing, active cases in the city declined to 64 from the whopping 629 cases in August and 268 cases in September. The city also sees a steady reduction in the daily COVID-19 infection rate to 1%.
