Jolo, SULU – With 25,500 target individuals, the Ministry of Health (MOH) kicked off Wednesday, May 11, the COVID-19 Special Vaccination Days (SVD) in Sulu province, which will run until May 13.
Sulu Governor Abdusakur Tan, who received his booster shot during the kick-off ceremony, urged his unvaccinated constituents to join the SVD in order to protect not only themselves but also their families and the whole community from contracting COVID-19.
“I, myself, was vaccinated with Sinovac two times, boosted once with Pfizer. A few minutes ago, I received my second Pfizer booster to show that this vaccine is safe and effective, with fatwa (Islamic ruling) from our Grand Mufti that it is halal, and moreover it is free,” said Governor Tan.
Other local officials of the province also got their boosters shots during the ceremony to express their full support to the BARMM’s SVD.
“Jolo government always supports the initiatives of the national and regional governments in conducting both regular and special vaccination days because we know that it is for the welfare and protection of our own people,” said Mayor Kherkhar Tan.
To reach the targeted unvaccinated individuals, MOH, Sulu’s Integrated Provincial Health Office (IPHO), and the local government unit will be using three strategies: using checkpoints, fixed posts (such as Barangay or Rural Health Stations), and the house-to-house method.
A total of 3,341 people were immunized on the SVD’s first day.
The SVD is a region-wide initiative of the MOH this month of May to increase the BARMM’s low immunization coverage and achieve herd immunity by June 30, 2022. (Kasan M. Usop, Jr./BIO)
