The Department of Health Center for Health Development Ilocos Region (DOH-CHD 1) received some 464,240 doses of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) vaccines on Wednesday, which will be used to address the demand for vaccination in the region.

In an interview on Thursday, DOH-CHD-1 Covid-19 focal person Dr. Rheuel Bobis said the national government, through the DOH central office, has delivered some 131,040 vials of Pfizer vaccine; 157,200 AstraZeneca; 152,000 Sinovac, and 24,000 thousand vials of Sputnik V.

He said after the vaccines arrived in the regional office, they will immediately distribute them to the Provincial Health Offices (PHO) in the four provinces of the Ilocos Region.

“These will help to ramp up immunization in the region especially now that we have already started inoculating the pediatric population,” he said.

Bobis said they are also monitoring those local government units (LGUs) that are lacking Covid-19 vaccine supplies.

“We are monitoring LGUs that have a low supply of vaccines so we could give them more and would be able to vaccinate as much as the other LGUs,” he added.

Meanwhile, Bobis said Pangasinan has the least number of fully vaccinated individuals which accounts for only 20.48 percent, compared to other provinces in the region as of November 2.

Pangasinan has also logged the lowest first dose vaccination rate at 32.13 percent — lower than La Union’s 39.78 percent; Ilocos Sur’s 57.6 percent and Ilocos Norte’s 55.15 percent.

“The huge population of Pangasinan is the reason why it has a low vaccination rate as compared to the other three provinces of the Ilocos Region,” he said. (PNA)