The province of Ilocos Norte had surpassed its target to achieve mass protection against coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) as it vaccinated around 94 percent of its target, latest data from the Provincial Health Task Force showed.

Ilocos Norte, with a total estimated population of 620,052, has 408,276 fully vaccinated individuals, which comprised 94.06 percent of its target population, provincial data showed on Wednesday.

“With the continuing mass vaccination of various local government units, we hope to fully vaccinate all our residents by the end of this month,” said Dr. Virgilio Mangapit of the Provincial Department of Health Office in a media interview.

Compared to other provinces in Region 1, Mangapit said Ilocos Norte is leading the way in terms of vaccination accomplishment against Covid-19.

While the province is currently under Alert Level 3 status until January 31 due to the presence of the highly transmissible Omicron variant, Governor Matthew Joseph Manotoc has reiterated in a press statement that the public should not panic as most of Ilocos Norte residents had already been vaccinated.

“Omicron is milder and we now know much more about the virus, especially the safety measures that work,” he said.

With the help of public and private health volunteers in the mass vaccination drive, the governor has also lauded the multi-sectoral effort to achieve total mass protection against the virus.

Administration of booster shots is also being offered by the province since the middle of January and some 10,851 already received their dose. (PNA)