ACHIEVEMENT. Dr. Jerie Calingasan, chief of the Misamis Oriental provincial health office, reveals the collated figures from different local government units on their coronavirus disease 2019 vaccination drive via Zoom conference on Dec. 3, 2021. Calingasan said the province hit the 70-percent population protection requirement, vaccinating 78.71 percent of the target with at least the first dose, or 536,487 total inoculations from March to November this year. (Screengrab via MisOr provincial gov't) CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY - The Misamis Oriental Provincial Health Office (PHO) on Friday announced the province has inoculated over 70 percent of its target population at least with a first dose of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) vaccine. In a Zoom conference, Dr. Jerie Calingasan, the PHO chief, said from March to December 2, the province was able to inoculate 536,487 individuals or around 78.71 percent for the first dose, and 46 percent on the second dose. Calingasan said he hopes to achieve the completion of the second dose of those partially vaccinated before the end of this year. "Let us see by today (December 3) if we will achieve 80 percent, and there are municipalities and cities who are still inoculating for the first dosage of the vaccine," he said in the vernacular. Calingasan said even before the three-day national "Bayanihan, Bakunahan" vaccination drive, the province has already been doing mass vaccinations since October. In consultation with Gov. Vicente Yevgeny Emano, he said that the provincial government has long planned that by December, the province will be opened to visitors or tourists to revive the local economy. During the online conference, the PHO also revealed the top municipalities with the highest number of vaccinated populations. The municipality of Libertad emerged on top of the 25 local governments in the province, reaching the highest number of inoculations with 98.18 percent, for the targeted population of 9,477. This was followed by Villanueva town hitting 95.26 percent of its target population of 30,206; and Medina inoculating 90.88 percent of its targeted 25,243 population. Dr. Lyndon Beltran, the Libertad municipal health officer, said it was not easy at the beginning of the vaccination drive in the municipality because the majority of the population was hesitant. He said the local government had to go to communities together with the help of barangay officials to help promote the vaccination and convince them that vaccines are safe. "The response was positive (later on), they are willing to get vaccinated as long as doctors accompany them," he said. (PNA) }