By Bernard Jaudian, Jr.
Thousands of Manila health care workers flocked on the last day of vaccination for frontliners at the Ospital ng Maynila Medical Center.
According to Manila Health Department Director, Dr. Arnold “Poks” Pangan, around one thousand frontliners were jabbed with AstraZeneca vaccines.
All supplies of Sinovac were already expended since yesterday with 700 doses allotted for Sta. Ana Hospital and 1,500 doses for Ospital ng Maynila.
Health care workers from public and private hospitals catering to suspected, probable, and confirmed cases were among the frontliners who joined.
Barangay health emergency response teams, as well as workers of the Manila Disaster and Risk Reduction Management Office (MDRRMO), Manila Department of Social Work and Development (MDSWD), stand-alone clinics, institutions for the elderly and the youth were also vaccinated.
Dr. Pangan said that the pacing of the city’s vaccination roll out was fast.
“Tagubilin nga po ni ating Mayor Isko Moreno, wala po kaming sinasayang na oras. Once na mabigyan po kami ng vaccine, binabakuna na po namin agad as soon as possible (Our Mayor Isko Morena ordered that no time should be wasted. Once we are given the vaccines, we administer the shots as soon as possible),” Dr. Pangan relayed.
Manila is now preparing for the vaccination of senior citizens as soon as the next batch of vaccines will arrive.
Dr. Pangan encouraged the elderly to get vaccinated in order to get protected from complications caused by COVID-19.
“For as long po na (Food and Drug Administration) FDA-approved, binigyan ng EUA (Emergency Use Authorization), ang mga bakunang ito, ginagarantisado po natin na ito po ay safe at effective (For as long as this is FDA-approved, given an EUA, theses vaccines are guaranteed safe and effective.”
In total, more than 12,000 frontliners have been vaccinated by the Manila Health Department, not including those who were vaccinated in private and national government hospitals.
