More people in the countryside are availing of the government’s coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) vaccination rollout as health authorities in North Cotabato have brought vaccines to its remote villages of the province.

Dr. Venancio Ang of the Integrated Provincial Health Office (IPHO) said Saturday the “outreach vaccination” to Geographically Isolated and Disadvantaged Areas (GIDAs) of North Cotabato has initially benefited the remote village of Tamporan in Magpet town.

On Friday, a total of 65 senior citizens (A2 group) and persons with comorbidities (A3), including a 92-year-old woman had received their Johnson&Johnson’s Janssen single-dose jabs in the village.

“Barangay Temporan is one of the 16 barangays in the municipality considered as GIDAs,” Ang said.

The purpose of the barangay vaccination initiative is to reach out to senior citizens and adults with comorbidities considering distance and transportation difficulties, he added.

Dr. Florilyn Pimentel, municipal health officer, said other remote villages in Magpet, an upland town near the country’s highest peak – Mt. Apo, will soon have their own vaccination rollout.

Pimentel said the villages of Don Panaca, Sallab, and Manobo, among others, are scheduled for vaccination rollout next week. (PNA)