Bangsamoro vaccinates nearly half a million residents

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) – Bangsamoro autonomous region in the southern Philippines has vaccinated close to half a million of its residents, the region’s top health official said on Wednesday.

Ashary Latiph, health minister of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), said the government has vaccinated 481,159 individuals across the region.

“We have administered first doses to 198,052 individuals and those who have received two doses are 283,107,” Latiph told a news conference.

Bangsamoro, a Muslim-majority area home to nearly 4.5 million people, has recorded 14,337 COVID-19 cases, including 572 deaths and 12,938 recoveries.

“We have the lowest number of COVID-19 cases among all the regions in the country,” Latiph said.

The region’s Health Ministry has received 709, 841 vaccine doses from the central government in Manila, which are being administered at 163 vaccination hubs across Bangsamoro.

Latiph said all frontline health workers in Bangsamoro, including doctors, nurses, medical technologists, midwives and other employees, have been fully vaccinated.

He acknowledged senior citizens were “hesitant” to take the vaccine and the government was trying to address their concerns.