CEBU City is not a kingdom, but definitely, something is rotten here. It’s not just only about the number of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) infections that has recorded the now too-familiar rise since the close of 2020: from single to double digits and, since January 26, to triple digits. It’s also about the below-par performance of Cebu City in the measles-rubella and oral polio vaccine campaign. With just a little over 20 percent accomplishment rates vis-à-vis targets, the Queen City of the South is at the bottom among the provinces and highly urbanized cities of Central Visayas, according to Department of Health Central Visayas data from February 10, day 10 of the immunization campaign.
Jeffrey Ibones, officer-in-charge of the Cebu City Health Office, explained the low immunization rates as owing to the bad weather (rain) that made already hard-to-reach areas even harder to reach. Furthermore, 20 of Cebu City’s barangay (villages) with the highest numbers of Covid infections have initially been excluded due to fear of transmission. These 20 barangay are the larger, more densely populated ones with more young children and babies in need of immunization. Lastly, Ibones mentioned fear of vaccines as a reason for low turnout.
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