By Froilan Gallardo
Special Correpondent
THE government is sending thousands of doses of the Johnson & Johnson’s single-shot coronavirus vaccine to fend off a possible outbreak of the highly infectious Delta variant of the Covid-19 in the city of Cagayan de Oro and Gingoog.
Vaccine czar and IATF chief Carlito Galvez said they would also be sending thousands of more doses to General Santos City and Tawi-Tawi Island province where there are largely unchecked cross-border connections between Indonesia and Malaysia, “growth areas” for the Delta variant.
Galvez said the Johnson & Johnson vaccine will also be supplied to regions that reported local cases of the Delta variant.
“We will supply you with the Johnson & Johnson as many as you want as long you double your vaccination drive,” Galvez said.
Galvez and the National Inter-Agency Task Force met with Cagayan de Oro Mayor Oscar and Gingoog Mayor Erick Cañosa to assess local efforts in combatting the highly infectious Delta variant.
He said Cagayan de Oro City should increase its vaccination drive to 5,000 a day and 2,000 a day for Gingoog City.
As of July 16, 2021, a total of 97,853 Cagayan de Oro residents have been inoculated. Of that, 66,231 residents got their first dose while 31,622 already have two doses.
Galvez said if Cagayan de Oro can reach the goal of 5,000 people vaccinated every day, seventy percent of the city’s 700,000 population would be vaccinated by December this year.
The Philippines received a donation of 1.6 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine from the United States last July 17.
The US government said it would be donating a total of 3.2 million doses which Johnson & Johnson said showed promise of “durable protection” against the Delta variant.
