The United States (US) will work with the Philippines to vaccinate more than 10,600 Filipinos at mass vaccination clinics in the cities of Quezon and Caloocan.
The US Peace Corps has partnered with local health officials and the United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) ReachHealth project in the mass vaccination drive.
“The US Peace Corps is pleased to team up with the Philippine government and USAID to support this critical, nationwide effort to protect the Filipino people and get children safely back to school in person,” US Peace Corps Country Director Jenner Edelman said.
According to the US Embassy in the Philippines, the US Peace Corps is devoting all available resources, including its medical professionals to support the Philippine and US government partners in overcoming the pandemic while the USAID’s health and humanitarian assistance supports the Philippine government in implementing internationally recognized prevention, control, and response strategies to protect Filipinos.
It added that amid the Omicron surge in January and February, doctors and nurses from the US Peace Corps helped fill critical healthcare worker shortages and meet vaccine demand by volunteering two days a week during the period.
"It was the first phase of a larger, nationwide effort to help protect the Filipino people against Covid-19 by increasing the vaccination rate, now at 71 percent (with two doses)," the embassy said.
In February, the US Peace Corps’ medical team was able to screen and vaccinate adolescents at mass vaccine clinics for those aged 12 to 17. In total, more than 2,700 patients aged 5 to 17 were given the vaccine.
"Together with the Department of Health and USAID, the U.S. Peace Corps will continue to provide medical professionals and other support staff to conduct pediatric vaccine clinics for children aged 5 to 11 in the National Capital Region, other parts of Luzon, and the Visayas," the American embassy said.
To date, USAID has provided $34.5 million in aid to improve the national and local responses through risk communication, laboratory strengthening, contact tracing, isolation, critical care management, logistics management, training, and acceleration of vaccine coverage.
The US Peace Corps is the US government’s premier volunteer organization and has supported Filipino communities across the country for more than 60 years.