Diversified conglomerate San Miguel Corporation (SMC) has signed on to support the government’s intensified booster vaccination drive program and is the health department’s largest private sector partner to date.
In a statement, SMC said it is throwing its full support behind government's program with the aim of further easing of COVID-19 restrictions and help sustain the country’s recovery and growth.
The renewed vaccination campaign, dubbed PinasLakas, is being rolled out by the Department of Health (DoH) and is intended to speed up and increase booster uptake nationwide through the setting up of vaccination sites at workplaces, hospitals, schools, malls, transportation terminals, and various communities.
Last year, through its own Ligtas Lahat vaccination drive, SMC successfully vaccinated 98 percent of its entire nationwide network of employees and extended workers.
SMC procured its own vaccines and set up its own vaccination sites in various cities and provinces to reach everyone in its network.
It also hired some 160 medical professionals for deployment to the different LGUs to support government’s vaccination drive, which led to the eventual safe reopening of the economy.
“Our country has had many significant gains against the pandemic this past year. So far, despite the emergence of new variants, and even through the surges we’ve experienced, our recovery has held fast,” said SMC President and CEO Ramon S. Ang.
He noted that, “But the risk to individuals, populations, our economic stability, are still there. Until more or majority of Filipinos get boosted, we always run the risk of having our pandemic gains limited or stalled.”
“That is why we fully support this program, especially since government has already eased outdoor mask mandates. While that is intended to give us relief, there are of course conditions. It’s up to each of us to be responsible for ourselves and those around us. Getting boosted or up-to-date with boosters further minimizes our risks,” Ang affirmed.
He lauded the DOH, under Officer-in-Charge Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire, for its continuing efforts to provide safe, effective, and accessible vaccines to Filipinos to help sustain economic recovery.
“At San Miguel, vaccines have been critical not just to our recovery but more importantly, the safe and continued operations of our various facilities and installations nationwide. With vaccination, we have been able to ensure continued availability of food, power, fuel, and the safe operations of vital infrastructure,” Ang said.
He added that, "We thank the DOH for bringing the PinasLakas campaign to San Miguel and making vaccines more available to our employees. I hope that with this campaign, the national government will be able to increase booster uptake and roll out second booster doses to a wider population."
To date, 72 percent of SMC’s fully-vaccinated workforce in NCR have had at least one booster shot under the company’s own program.
With PinasLakas, Ang said he anticipates this number to go up in the coming months, and for uptake for the second booster to also increase ahead of the holiday season—when there is usually an uptick in positive cases.
SMC formalized its support for PinasLakas with a ceremonial booster vaccination of 130 employees at the company's head office complex in Mandaluyong City.
DOH OIC Undersecretary Vergerie, for her part, thanked SMC for continuing to be among the biggest supporters of the government's vaccination program.
Since July 2022, the DOH has opened nearly 20,000 PinasLakas vaccination sites nationwide, with over 1,200 based in the National Capital Region alone.
The campaign's goal is to fully vaccinate 90 percent of the A2 or senior citizen population and increase booster dose coverage to 50 percent of the target population by October 8, 2022, which marks the first 100 days of the Marcos administration.