‘Bakunahan 4’
WITH the current economic hardship, getting sick these days costs an arm and a leg due to the high prices of medicines in this Southeast Asian nation of more than 110 million people.
We, thus, support government efforts to step up the tempo of its nationwide vaccination program against the dreaded and deadly coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
Still unable to achieve “herd or community immunity,” health and other government authorities launch on Thursday, March 10, a three-day national vaccination campaign.
Dubbed the fourth “Bayanihan, Bakunahan,” the elaborately-orchestrated vaccination drive aims to inoculate 1.8 million senior citizens not only in Luzon but throughout the country.
In announcing the undertaking, Health Undersecretary Myrna Cabotaje noted the inability of local government units (LGUs) to inoculate more people “nitong mga nakalipas na linggo.”
At the same time, Undersecretary Cabotaje, who chairs the National Vaccination Operations Center (NVOC), lamented the reluctance of people to have their booster shots.
“Siguro nawala na ang takot ng iba nating kababayan kasi patuloy ang pagbaba ng bilang ng mga nagkakasakit ng COVID-19 sa Pilipinas,” said a former medical frontliner.
This is wrong, she said, because the deadly virus is still with us. “Hindi pa natatapos ang pandemya kagaya ng nakikita natin sa ibang bansa, kasama ang Hong Kong,” she added.
We urge the unvaccinated, particularly the elderly, to have themselves inoculated.
This is the best way to protect ourselves against COVID-19, which has killed millions of people and displaced countless workers not only the Philippines but elsewhere.
