More COVID vaccines sought for CDO amid hike in cases
DEPUTY Speaker and Cagayan de Oro City Rep. Rufus Rodriguez on Friday appealed to the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) on coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) response to immediately send more vaccines to Cagayan de Oro City amid increasing COVID-19 cases.
The urgent appeal of Cagayan de Oro’s second-district representative is contained in letters to Health Secretary Francisco Duque lll and Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles, who jointly head the IATF.
Rodriguez said the OCTA research group a few days ago reported that that CDO is an “area of concern” as it has noticed a 75-percent increase in infections in Cagayan de Oro.
He said there were 71 new cases in the city on Wednesday and 52 on Thursday, bringing the cumulative total to more than 5,500.
“In view of this, may I request the IATF to allocate additional vaccines for Cagayan de Oro City on top of its normal allocation. I believe that with the additional Sinovac and Astra Zeneca vaccines that arrived in the Philippines, it would not be difficult to allocate additional vaccines for Cagayan de Oro,” he wrote Duque and Nograles.
The House leader expressed alarm over the increase in COVID cases in his city.
He called on city health authorities to determine where the new cases originated and for city officials to tighten border controls and enforcement of health protocols.
Rodriguez also appealed for cooperation from city residents and the private sector in government efforts to fight the pandemic.
“We must always be vigilant against this virulent virus. Fighting it requires the support of every citizen,” Rodriguez stressed.
