President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on Wednesday, June 21, hailed those behind the manufacturing and administering of the Covid-19 vaccines as he credited them for allowing society to return to normalcy.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. delivers his speech during the launch of the bivalent Covid-19 vaccination at the Philippine Heart Center in Quezon City on Wednesday, June 21. (Photo from the Presidential Communications Office)
He urged Filipinos to honor the scientists, manufacturers and healthcare workers who dedicated their lives to the discovery of the vaccine and taking care of those who caught the virus.
As a way to recognize their efforts, the Chief Executive asked Filipinos to get themselves vaccinated.
“We certainly owe a debt as well to our vaccine manufacturers, our scientists, our healthcare workers, and everyone who gave so much, so that the world could return to a state of normalcy,” he said during the launch of the bivalent Covid-19 vaccination at the Philippine Heart Center in Quezon City.
“Let this occasion serve as a call to every Filipino to continue doing your part [and] get updated on your Covid-19 vaccination to prevent a resurgence, (and) as a means of honoring those who sacrificed their lives during the pandemic,” he added.
Marcos assuaged the public’s concerns on receiving the jabs, and stressed that the government has science-based strategies and a whole-of-society approach in administering the vaccines.
He then urged newly appointed Health Secretary Ted Herbosa to strengthen the Department of Health’s (DOH) efforts to protect the Filipino people against all health risks.
“I urge all of us to remain relentless in our fight against Covid-19 and all other infectious diseases that threaten the country,” the President said.
“As long as we exhibit discipline, observe cleanliness and practice cooperation, we will overcome the residual challenges that are still posed by Covid-19 and emerge stronger than ever as members of a healthy, resilient and productive Philippine society,” he added.
He also called on the public not to let their “guard down” because although the state of emergency seems to have ended, “it is not over completely.”
The Philippines has so far received 391,860 doses of Comirnaty Pfizer-BioNtech-adapted bivalent vaccines from Lithuania last June 3.
These have been allocated to all DOH-Centers for Health Development and the Ministry of Health-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
The bivalent vaccines, which provide a broad protection against the original Covid-19 and a component of the Omicron variant, will be given as 3rd booster dose to the priority groups—healthcare workers and elderlies.