Public urged to get the jab if they are qualified
A total of 9,077 individuals have already been vaccinated against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), two days after the government rolled out its vaccination program to address the crisis, Presidential spokesman Harry Roque announced Thursday, March 3.
In a separate virtual briefing, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said the health workers were given the CoronaVac, the COVID-19 vaccine manufactured by Chinese drugmaker Sinovac, from March 1 to March 3 in 32 different sites in the National Capital Region (NCR):
- Philippine General Hospital;
- Dr. Jose N. Rodriguez Memorial Hospital
- Lung Center of the Philippines
- Veterans Memorial Medical Center
- Philippine National Police General Hospital
- Pasig City General Hospital
- Amang Rodriguez Medical Center
- Pasay City General Hospital
- Sta. Ana Hospital
- Taguig-Pateros District Hospital
- East Avenue Medical Center
- Research Institute for Tropical Medicine
- San Lazaro Hospital
- Jose R. Reyes Memorial Medical Center
- Quirino Memorial Medical Center
- Dr. Fe Del Mundo Medical Center
- National Kidney and Transplant Institute
- Philippine Heart Center
- The Medical City
- St. Lukes Medical Center-Quezon City
- San Juan De Dios Educational Foundation, Inc.
- Quezon City General Hospital
- Cardinal Santos Medical Center
- Pasay City Health Office
- Ospital ng Muntinlupa
- National Children's Hospital
- St. Luke's Medical Center-Global
- and five AFP sites.
The Philippines rolled out the vaccination program on March 1 with the 600,000 CoronaVac doses donated by the Chinese government. Of the 600,000 doses, 189,600 have already been delivered, including 12,000 sent to Davao City and 7,200 to Cebu City.
"Vaccination activities in those cities are expected to commence today," Nograles said.
According to the Palace official, the government already has the data of the "master-listed population" in the country's 17 regions.
'As of yesterday, the master-listed population stands at 222,783 and the vaccines shall be administered to them in 243 vaccination sites in all 17 regions of the country-- 94 sites across Luzon, 18 in the Visayas, and 131 in Mindanao," Nograles said.
"Those to be given the initial doses are our health workers and other essential personnel," he added.
Take the vaccine if you're qualified
Meanwhile, Nograles appealed to the public to take their cue from the medical frontliners who received the vaccine and be vaccinated if they are qualified.
He added that acquiring vaccines will do nothing if they will stay inside their bottles.
"The government will mobilize all of its resources to secure supplies of these vaccines and to roll them out the soonest possible time. But this is only half the battle," he said.
"To triumph in the war against COVID-19, every Filipino qualified to receive the vaccine should get vaccinated. Ito po ang inyong armas laban sa (This is your weapon against) COVID-19," he added.
Nograles echoed President Duterte's stand that nobody will be safe from COVID-19 unless everyone is vaccinated.
"A vaccinated population will be our shield against this disease," he said.