MANILA - The local government of Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao will secure more cold-storage facilities to bring the vaccine to more areas, as the area continued to record low inoculation rates.

The region has so far fully vaccinated only 880,000 of its target population of 3.4 million, Chief Minister Ahod Ebrahim said, citing latest data.

"BARMM is doing its best to reach its target and reach herd immunity," Ebrahim said Wednesday.

House-to-house vaccination efforts will continue, and additional cold-storage facilities could vastly expand the vaccination program.

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According to the Department of Health (DOH), the National Vaccination Operations Center (NVOC) found five challenges faced in the vaccination efforts in BARMM.

Limited manpower has prevented more people from receiving the jab, while those for vaccination are also riddled with vaccine hesitancy or have vaccine preferences.

The limitation in manpower has also affected the submission of daily vaccination reports.

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Misinformation is also prevalent, while the DOH and NVOC struggle with the "lukewarm support from local chief executives and barangay local government units."

The DOH said it will ramp up "suyod" activities and information caravans through dialogues, radio plugs, and offering "ayuda" or reinforcement to those who are willing to get vaccinated.

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It also plans to hire technicians and provide them with wifi and load allowance for the timely submission of vaccination reports.

The DOH assured that BARMM authorities have recognized that the Philippine Halal certification Board has certified COVID-19 vaccines as 'Halal', or permissible to the Islam faith.