In her desire to encourage more people get their booster shots, Mayor Beng Climaco was asking the Department of Health (DOH) for any measures that would further boost people’s interest to get vaccinated for the third or booster shot.

Short of suggesting to make the booster shot mandatory for essential movements or travels, Climaco said DOH should have measures stronger than the current house-to-house campaign for booster shots.

Meanwhile, Climaco was visibly elated by the DOH report that cited Zamboanga City along with the cities of Dapitan and Isabela for achieving the highest vaccination achievements during the 4th National Vaccination Days from March 10-12.

The DOH reported that Zamboanga City had administered a total of 21,022 doses or 136.39% over and above its target of 15,413 doses during the three-day NVD4.

On the other hand, Dapitan City has achieved 178.36% with 2,374 doses administered out of 1,331 target, while Isabela City was able to surpass its target by 113.66% for 2,112 doses administered against its 1,860 target.

In the Regional Daily Accomplishment Report, Zamboanga City even scored the highest in doses administered— 888 first dose, 8269 2nd dose, 610 single dose and 1869 booster dose.

Also worth noting that in the nationwide level, DOH reported that Zamboanga Peninsula or Region 9 ranked 11th among 17 regions with highest unvaccinated individuals, meaning Zampen is one of the regions with the highest number of vaccinated individuals.

“And, in the region, Zamboanga City leads in the vaccination rollout,” Climaco said as she reiterated the city’s offer to share its AstraZeneca-purchased vaccines with other LGUs in the region.

She said the city has already signed a memorandum with an LGU for vaccine sharing. She did not elaborate.-(Vic Larato)