ZAMBOANGA CITY, Jan 21 (PIA) – The Department of Health (DOH) here targets to administer 300,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines in three days, from January 26-28 for all provinces and cities in Region 9.

DOH regional director Dr. Joshua Brillantes said they hope to be able to replicate the success of the national vaccination days held recently in which thousands of people were vaccinated within a matter of days.

“Vaccination is very important especially because of the Omicron variant,” he said as he sought the support of the private sector and different organizations for the three-day activity dubbed “Zambayanihan Bakunahan”.

The Bakunahan will cater to first, second and booster doses, and for those who missed their second doses.

“We also encourage senior citizens who are still not vaccinated to get vaccinated soonest,” Dr. Brillantes said, emphasizing the risks if they choose to remain unvaccinated. Recently, the DOH announced two unvaccinated senior citizens in Luzon died due to the Omicron variant of COVID-19.

In a statement, the DOH stressed that even though “Omicron mostly presents with asymptomatic and mild disease, our data shows that those most at risk for fatalities are still the elderly and those with comorbidities and unvaccinated”.

Residents are advised to follow official social media pages of their local government units for the vaccination venues. (RVC/DIS/PIA9-Zamboanga City)