Pateros Mayor Miguel “Ike” Ponce III said the vaccination program in the municipality will continue even under the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), which will be in effect from Aug. 6 to 20 in the National Capital Region (NCR).
“Our walks-ins will be until Thursday only. Starting Friday, I will make an announcement again, we will no longer accept walk-ins. Our vaccination will continue even under the ECQ especially for the second dose as we cannot stop this,” said Ponce in a live broadcast on Facebook Saturday.
He said starting Aug. 6, all individuals need to have registration in order to avail of the vaccine and they will be given their schedules in order to avoid crowding at vaccination sites.
As of July 30, Pateros has administered the first dose to 41,814 individuals or 85.33 percent of the target population of 49,000. In addition, 28,938 individuals are now fully vaccinated or 59 percent of the target population.
Pateros has the smallest number of target population for vaccination in Metro Manila.
Starting Monday, the Pateros municipal government will reactivate its express vaccination registration wherein people only need to text their personal information to a cell phone number in order to get registered.
Pateros is allotting its supply of Johnson & Johnson’s single-shot Janssen vaccines for senior citizens and persons with comorbidities.
Ponce said Pateros has received a new supply of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines and on Monday, these will be exclusively offered for senior citizens who will be allowed to get it without appointments at vaccination sites.
The mayor expressed frustration that there are still many senior citizens in Pateros who do not want to get vaccinated.
“It is still very difficult to convince you to get vaccinated. There are still many seniors who I do not know what they are waiting for to get vaccinated. I am giving you this last chance. If you do not avail this, have second thoughts or get scared, we will give these to others,” he said.
Ponce is one of the Metro Manila mayors who signed the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Resolution 21-15 last Wednesday requesting the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases to put NCR under ECQ but with the condition that the national government should have funds for a Social Amelioration Program (SAP) to be distributed to underprivileged individuals and families.
Amid the rising cases of coronavirus disease (COVID19) in Pateros and the threat of the highly contagious Delta variant, Ponce has ordered the strict implementation of health protocols including arresting violators of the face mask and face shield ordinance.
He also ordered a total liquor ban in Pateros starting Saturday wherein buying and selling of liquor is prohibited. He clarified that exempted from this order are the large business establishments like supermarkets and groceries which sell liquor intended for delivery outside Pateros.