The Philippine Red Cross launched its pediatric coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccination of children aged five to 11 in Zamboanga City, the organization said on Thursday, Feb. 16.
The country's premier humanitarian organization said that it continues to support the National COVID-19 vaccination program of the government.
"Patuloy ang Philippine Red Cross sa pagdala ng mga bakuna sa iba't ibang sulok ng bansa at mailapit ito sa tao upang matiyak ang kaligtasan at maproteksyonan kayo sa COVID-19. Tulong-tulong tayong upang mapigilan na ang pandemya (Red Cross continues to provide vaccines to different parts of the country and bring it closer to the people to ensure their safety and protection against COVID-19. Let's help each other to end the pandemic)," PRC Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Sen. Dick Gordon said.
According to the PRC Health Services, volunteers from the chapter administered 204 doses of vaccines manufactured by Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca, Sinovac, and Sputnik. Around 90 out of 204 administered doses were for minors aged five to 11 who received their primary shots of Pfizer.
As of February 15, 2022, PRC Zamboanga City Chapter has administered a total of 36,140 doses while fully vaccinating 14,488 individuals since opening their Bakuna Center on Sept. 2021 in partnership with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
On the other hand, increasing its efforts to fight against COVID-19, PRC, through Gordon's leadership continues to deploy its Bakuna Buses to administer primary, secondary and booster vaccine doses in partnership with Lazada Philippines which started on Feb. 15, 2022 until Feb. 19, 2022.
"The more people we vaccinate, the closer we are getting to reaching herd immunity," Gordon said.
According to the PRC Health Services, this week, the PRC volunteers are targeting to administer doses for 600 individuals as the Bakuna Buses will be deployed in the following areas: Barangay Malanday and Fortune, Barangay North Fairview, San Bartolome, and at the Lazada Hub in San Pedro Laguna.
As of February 14, 2022, the PRC Bakuna Buses, in partnership with Lazada Philippines, have administered 3,373 doses since launching the program last January 2022. The partnership aims to boost vaccination rates through Lazada's donations enabling PRC to support its Bakuna Bus Deployments until May 2022.
Meanwhile, the PRC has also achieved another milestone as they have now administered more than a million doses since launching their COVID-19 Vaccination Program last March 2021. Being of assistance in helping the country curb the spread of the virus, the humanitarian organization has now administered 1,002,041 doses as of Feb. 14.
"The best way to protect yourself, your loved ones, and the people around you is by getting vaccinated," Gordon said.