Manila to start COVID-19 vaccination today

MANILA, Philippines — The Manila city government received yesterday 3,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine manufactured by Chinese drug firm Sinovac, according to Mayor Isko Moreno.

He said they would start the vaccine rollout today by inoculating at least 200 health workers.

“Hopefully, I’m going to be vaccinated tomorrow along with the directors of Manila hospitals and other medical frontliners,” Moreno told reporters. “Once we start the vaccination, siguradong dadami ang gustong magpabakuna.”

Manila was the first local government unit in the country to receive Sinovac vaccines from the National Task Force against COVID-19.

Moreno, Vice Mayor Honey Lacuna and officials of the Sta. Ana Hospital received the vaccines at around 4 p.m.

Boxes of Sinovac vaccines were brought to the hospital’s cold storage facility.

The vaccine doses would be good for the city’s 1,500 healthcare workers, including doctors, nurses and personnel working in public hospitals as well as barangay health workers, Moreno said.

He said health workers have the right to choose other brands of COVID vaccine they prefer.

“But we want to encourage them not to waste the opportunity of being the first to be vaccinated against COVID-19,” Moreno said.

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