On December 13 and 14, 2021, Notre Dame Schools in Jolo conducted their Resbakuna Vaccination event at the Notre Dame of Jolo College Covered Court (Main Campus) for students aged 12-17 and 18 years and above, respectively; in collaboration with several sectors of the community, such as Integrated Provincial Health Office – Sulu (IPHO) and Sulu Sanitarium, with the goal of achieving herd immunity.
The vaccination program was organized by the over-all head vaccination organizer, Bro. Angelo Roberto T. Diana, OMI, MBA, (Vice President for Administration) with the vaccination commitee headed by Dr. Rhea Tan-Warid.
Notre Dame students 12-17 years old with the accompaniment of their guardians were vaccinated with Pfizer-Biotech on the 13th of December. On the other hand, Sinopharm vaccines were administered to the 18 years old and above students and staff of the Notre Dame of Jolo Senior High School Department on the second day of the event, December 14.
Statistics revealed that there were 868 total of vaccinees on the first day, December 13. There were 846 (839 for first dose and 7 for booster shots) adminsitered vaccines for Pfizer-Biontech and 22 vaccines for Sinopharm. On the other hand, there were 500 vaccinated individuals for the second day, December 14. There were 377 for Pfizer-Biontech (342 for first dose, 5 for second dose, and 30 for booster dose), 121 for Sinopharm (first dose), and 2 for Sinovac (second dose). Thus, a total of 1,368 individuals were vaccinated in the 2-day inoculation event.
Students are encouraged to get vaccinated, just as to one of the 16 year-old vaccinated students, “After vaccination, I felt better and safer”; “they should get vaccinated, because this is not only for themselves but also for the whole community”, he added. An 18-year old student also stated, “At first I was nervous, but then after a while I felt comfortable because there were also lots of students to be vaccinated, including my friends.”
One of the doctors in the Resbakuna, Dr. Mohammad Matingka, said in the interview that “I’m confident that if we get enough people to get vaccinated, especially the children, it will increase the chances of having the herd immunity here.”
In addition, several 4th year students of the Nursing Program volunteered to assist in the two-day event. In an interview with two of these students, one had said, “It is tiring, yes. But at the same time, it is quite fulfilling. There’s a part of me that is all about volunteerism, to be able to give from my efforts more especially if many will benefit from them.” The other had also said “Because we really lack experience, we eagerly grabbed the opportunity to take part in the vaccination as it would be a great learning experience. It would be a waste if we didn’t. We were very eager to be exposed to anything related to our course.”
Lastly, this vaccination drive is significant to the school and community, as to Father Eduardo M. Santoyo, OMI, NDJC College President, “the Resbakuna drive here in NDJC aims to support the local and national government’s effort in order to promote wellness for our students as well as for our families”. Additionally, he added that “It is also a move forward in terms of preparing for regulated face-to-face classes not only for college students, but also for senior high school students”.
