ZAMBOANGA CITY – About 1,049,785 city residents have received their coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) jabs since the start of the vaccine rollout in March, the City Health Office (CHO) has reported.

Data from the CHO released on Saturday showed that 452,366 of the total have been fully vaccinated while the remaining 597,419 have received their first dose.

The numbers for fully vaccinated and partially inoculated individuals represent 65.11 percent and 85.99 percent, respectively, of the target eligible population of 694,696.

“Zamboanga City aggressively pursues vaccination with the aim of achieving mass population protection (at) the soonest possible time,” Mayor Maria Isabelle Climaco-Salazar said in a statement.

The 452,366 fully protected individuals belong to the following priority groups: 18,000 front-line health service workers; 43,421 senior citizens; 73,547 individuals with co-morbidity; 120,447 front-line personnel in the essential sector; 85,245 indigents; 54,069, the rest of the population (ROP); 1,073 pediatrics with co-morbidity; and 56,564, the rest of the pediatric population (ROPP).

Data showed that the 597,419 partially vaccinated consist of 19,014 front-line health service workers; 50,295 senior citizens; 69,787 individuals with co-morbidity; 157,833 front-line personnel in the essential sector; 111,549 indigents; 106,643, ROP; 1,649, pediatrics with co-morbidity; and 80,649, ROPP.

Salazar urged the public to get vaccinated and get added protection against Covid-19.

“Vaccination plus the continuous practice of minimum health standards are the effective defenses to prevent and control the virus,” she added. (PNA)