Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri has called for more vaccine allocation for Cebu and other provincial areas as he urged more citizens to support the national government’s inoculation program against coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).

The senator made the call during his visit to Cebu on Thursday, where he met with Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia at the Capitol.

“Let us help our local governments. Let’s get ourselves vaccinated. We now have to focus on our vaccination program so we can help resuscitate our economy,” Zubiri told the media in a mix of Cebuano and English.

He assured Garcia that more vaccines will arrive in the province in the coming weeks and months, as pledged by the national government.

Cebu is part of the so-called National Capital Region Plus in the inoculation priority, which includes major metropolitan areas outside the capital.

Department of Health-Central Visayas Director Dr. Jaime Bernadas, who was present during Zubiri’s visit at the Capitol, said Region 7 has so far received a total of 1.6 million doses since the country received its first supply of the Covid-19 jabs.

Noting that the region has a total population of 7.4 million, he said that it still needs more doses to ensure that the majority of the population gets vaccinated.

Meanwhile, Zubiri bared his observation that Cebu is getting back its vibrancy amid the pandemic, expressing his full support to the provincial government’s measures for economic recovery, particularly in the tourism industry.

“In spite of this pandemic, it is the resiliency of every Cebuano that we see now. Let us rally behind our leaders in Cebu so we can ensure our continued recovery,” the senator further said.

When asked about his political plans for next year’s elections, he said he is seeking reelection. (PNA)