The Philippine Red Cross (PRC) on Wednesday, June 23, said that it has established six vaccination centers in the National Capital Region (NCR) after receiving 10,000 doses of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccines from the government.
“Today, we have opened six vaccination centers all over Metro Manila,” PRC Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Senator Richard Gordon in a virtual press conference.
“We just received the 10,000 vaccines consisting of Sinovac, Pfizer and Sputnik,” Gordon said. He added that PRC will also speed up the creation of its vaccination centers. “We have prepared a thousand if vaccinators all over the country,” he added.
The additional doses of COVID-19 vaccines from the government, PRC said, is part of its commitment to aid efforts in vaccinating those belonging to priority groups as well as working individuals.
Gordon said that the PRC established a total of six “Bakuna Centers” in Metro Manila: the PRC molecular laboratory in Mandaluyong, PRC Port Area, Manila, Kabaka Compound, Pandacan, Manila, San Lorenzo, Makati, Arcovia City, Pasig and a recent addition in PRC Pasay City Chapter.
The “PRC Bakuna Centers,” Gordon said, are also lauded for being efficient, uncrowded, and faithful to health protocols to circumvent infection.
Gordon also noted that PRC remains committed to “help the government reinforce our defense against COVID-19 by vaccinating our people.” He added that Red Cross has the “manpower, the resources, and the compassion to reach out to our people and prevent them from getting sick.”
PRC is not new when it comes to vaccination as it also provided substantial support in past campaigns against polio and measles-rubella where its pool of volunteers and partner institutions like the Philippine Nurses Association (PNA), the Philippine Medical Association (PMA) and top medical universities in the country were maximized.
Earlier, Gordon also proposed that the relatives and household members of frontline workers be prioritized for vaccination. This was approved by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases in a letter signed by Secretary Carlito Galvez, Jr. last June 18.
Meanwhile, Gordon reminded the public to continue following the health protocols to ensure everyone’s safety.
“This is still a long battle ahead so I hope we continue to observe the protocols like washing our hands, practice social distancing, wearing face masks - and others. Let’s get tested if needed and most importantly, let's get vaccinated against COVID-19,” he said in a mix of English and Filipino.