CEBU CITY – At least two million Filipinos from this city, and other major cities in the country, will be vaccinated against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) by April.
This was disclosed by Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Martin Andanar in his speech at the “Explain, Explain, Explain: Pagduaw sa Cebu ug Mandaue”, on Tuesday January 19, at the launch of the government’s COVID-19 information campaign at the Bayfront Hotel in Mandaue City.
He said health workers, the elderly, and the indigent will be among the first who would be inoculated for free.
“2020 has been a challenging year for every Filipino however, we remained resilient from all of these difficulties. We were proactive in our actions, responses and programs to ensure the welfare and safety of all Filipinos, through the leadership of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte,” Andanar said.
Andanar added that the government was set to roll out the National COVID-19 Vaccination Program by the third or fourth week of February in major cities with high attack rates such as Metro Manila, Metro Cebu and Davao City.
He underscored that the government did not have any policy favoring any specific vaccine, or from which country these will originate.
“With our current negotiations, we have ensured that we will receive at least 137 million doses, and this may expand to 172 million doses by next year,” Andanar added.
As the lead communications arm of the government, Andanar said the PCOO would continue to operate its “Laging Handa” information and communications campaign to assure the public that the Duterte administration is on top of the COVID-19 situation in the country.
Andanar said the PCOO will continue to disseminate, and reiterate the need to observe health protocols and precautionary measures, dispel false information, and to advocate fpreparedness and vigilance.
With Andanar at the kick-off event were officials from the Department of Health (DOH), Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Office of the Presidential Assistant for the Visayas (OPAV) and some local government units (LGUs) here.