Vaccination starts for 14,000 tourism frontliners, Ayala complex workers in Davao City
DAVAO CITY has started the vaccination of about 14,000 workers in tourism, one of the sectors hit hardest by the coronavirus pandemic.
Generose D. Tecson, officer-in-charge of the city tourism office, said the head count covers workers in all primary and secondary tourism establishments as well as allied services.
“It’s our way forward and will pave the way in reopening the tourism industry. This ensures the safety of our tourism workers,” she said in a statement.
During the first day of inoculation on June 30, held at the Waterfront Insular Hotel, an initial 500 workers received their first dose.
“The Waterfront is our lone vaccination site (for tourism workers) and they contributed snacks and stuff as part of their 60th anniversary. Our volunteers are from the Davao Tourism Association and other tourism associations,” she said.
Meanwhile, the Ayala group also rolled out its vaccination program on Wednesday for workers within the Abreeza complex, which includes a shopping mall, Seda Hotel, and condominiums.
The Ayala Malls Abreeza management said the vaccination drive, undertaken in partnership with the city and regional health authorities, “is in line with the shopping mall’s mission to safeguard the health and safety of mall employees… as well as to further ensure a safe shopping experience for its shoppers.”
An initial 350 employees out of the more than 1,600 target got their first jab on June 30.
Data from the Davao City Vaccination Cluster show 238,236 coronavirus vaccine doses have been administered as of June 28. Of the total, 196,886 were first doses while 41,350 have completed the two shots.
Majority of those inoculated are senior citizens at 70,952 with a first dose and 10,988 fully vaccinated. The city’s 26,361 healthcare workers are fully vaccinated. For persons with comorbidities, 80,859 have received their first jab while 3,976 are fully vaccinated.
City Health Office acting head Ashley G. Lopez said the local vaccination program has been covering an average of 10,000 recipients per day.
The city government of Davao, which has a population of over 1.8 million, is aiming to fully vaccinate at least 70% of residents. — MSJ
