The Department of Health Center for Health Development (DOH-CHD) Bicol aims to inoculate 266,340 during the third national government vaccination campaign against Covid-19 on February 10 and 11.

Noemi Bron, DOH-Bicol Health and Promotion chief, said in an interview on Tuesday that the “Bayanihan, Bakunahan 3” will include those 12 years old and above who have yet to receive their primary and booster shots.

“From the total target, the 117,180 are those who need to receive their first dose, while 149,160 are targeted to receive their booster dose,” Bron said.

Those who were vaccinated at least three months after the second dose of a two-dose vaccine, or least two months after the single-dose jabs, are encouraged to avail of booster shots.

The primary two-dose vaccines are AstraZeneca, Sputnik, Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech, and Sinovac, while Janssen and Sputnik Light are primary single-dose vaccines.

A total of 1,776 volunteers will be deployed throughout the six provinces to assist in registration, counseling, screening, vaccination, monitoring, and recording.

“The volunteers are nurses, information technology experts or ordinary citizens who want to help during the vaccination drive,” Bron added.

The public should listen only to information released by the DOH to avoid false information on Covid-19 and vaccination, according to Bron.

Meanwhile, in a radio interview, Kenn Nuyda, Nurse V of the Regional Epidemiology and Response Unit, addressed the importance of the vaccination of children aged 5 to 11 years.

“Children from this age group are not exempted from contracting the Covid-19 virus from other people like adults within the household,” Nuyda said.

As of February 6, the Bicol Region recorded Covid-19 cases in 1,007 boys and 877 girls aged 5 to 11 years.

There is no schedule yet in the region for the vaccination of the youngest age group. (PNA)