The provincial government of Davao del Norte reported Tuesday that as of Sept. 19, a total of 120,938 people in the province have been fully vaccinated against coronavirus disease (Covid-19).

A public statement posted on the provincial government’s official Facebook page said the number is equivalent to 16 percent of the targeted 744,405 individuals to achieve population protection.

A total of 171,995 have received the first dose of vaccine and are set to receive the second dose.

The Department of Health in Region 11 (Davao Region) increased the vaccine allocation for the province of Davao del Norte after Governor Edwin Jubahib appealed to the national government to increase their supply.

“Due to the increase in vaccines, the whole of Davao del Norte has organized a three-day vaccination schedule (Wednesday to Friday) but unfortunately last week, the Provincial Health Office (PHO) was unable to conduct ‘Resbakuna’ on Friday due to lack of health workers as some of them were exposed to Covid-19,” the statement added.

The provincial government announced that it would begin the “Resbakuna” inoculation program this week in 20 vaccination sites throughout the province which are managed by 66 teams.

“It is expected that by the end of this year or early next year, population protection will be reached and to also restore economic activity in the province,” it said. (PNA)