The province of Negros Oriental targets to inoculate 133,317 senior citizens against the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) as they even urged them to just “walk-in” at any vaccination site and get the shot.

Assistant Provincial Health Officer Dr. Liland Estacion, Covid-19 incident commander of the province’s Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID), in a virtual presser Tuesday afternoon, urged senior citizens to have themselves vaccinated so that individuals belonging to other priority sectors can also receive the vaccine.

Estacion lamented that as of Aug. 17, the province has only inoculated 21.1 percent of the total target senior citizens for vaccination.

This has slowed down the administration of Covid-19 vaccines for A4 priority group individuals (front-liner personnel in essential sectors) because the government wants to prioritize the senior citizens and those with comorbidities who are the most vulnerable to the disease, she said.

Senior citizens need not be registered anymore but are “considered walk-ins”, Estacion said.

As an incentive, if an A4 individual can bring a senior citizen along, that person will also be eligible to be vaccinated, she added.

Estacion appealed to the people to encourage their family members, relatives, and friends who are senior citizens to get vaccinated to achieve population protection.

Meanwhile, the number of Covid-19 cases in Negros Oriental has lessened compared to the surge of infections in previous months before the imposition of stricter quarantine classifications.

As of Aug. 17, the total caseload is 10,823, broken down into 10,256 recoveries, 342 active cases, and 225 mortalities, she said.

Negros Oriental is currently under general community quarantine with heightened restrictions until Aug. 31. (PNA)