Navotas gov't nears launch of mobile vaccination program
MANILA, Philippines — Taking the lead of other local government units, Navotas City is set to roll out mobile vaccination units to bring coronavirus jabs closer to its residents, Mayor Toby Tiangco disclosed Wednesday.
In a statement sent to reporters, Tiangco said that the Philippine Red Cross lent the local government unit a vaccination bus to visit and inoculate Navoteños who are bedridden or sick and can no longer leave their homes.
The Department of Health also gave the city government an ambulance that will be used to transport COVID-19 patients to hospitals or isolation facilities, and to reinforce the emergency response of the city.
"We will roll out the mobile vaccination as soon as we have completed the mapping of our intended vaccinees," he said, adding that operations are still pending additional manpower and data on beneficiaries.
"We initially conducted house-to-house vaccination of our bedridden residents at Barangay Tangos North and South. However, we had to put it on hold due to limited staff. Red Cross will send vaccinators to augment our team."
As of June 29, Navotas has administered 106,519 doses of COVID vaccine. Of this, 82,167 are first doses and 24,352 are second doses.
Tiangco called on families of bedridden residents to coordinate with their respective barangays.
"Help us locate our most vulnerable residents so we could give them the protection they need against COVID-19. If you have a family member or a friend or neighbor who is bedridden and has yet to get vaccinated, inform your barangay so they would be included in the list," he said.
RELATED: Robredo open to establishing 'vaccine express' in other Metro Manila cities
Creativity in vaccination programs urged
Elsewhere in the Metro, Vice President Leni Robredo last week also launched a vaccine express site in Manila City that inoculated tricycle, pedicab and delivery riders.
Speaking on her weekly radio show aired over AM radio dzXL, Robredo earlier underscored the need to be creative in finding ways to encourage Filipinos to get vaccinated against COVID-19.
"There are many well-performing LGUs as far as vaccination is concerned. So that's really what we need, the secret is to really look for creative means to tackle vaccination," she said Sunday.
The vice president added that she was willing to replicate the effort in other local governments in Metro Manila and Visayas that are willing to partner with her office.
At the start of the month, the Department of the Interior and Local Government also lauded the strategies of local government units across the country in convincing Filipinos to get vaccinated.
“The out-of-the box initiatives by some LGUs can be replicated by other LGUs so they too can fast track their COVID-19 vaccination efforts. By taking giant leaps, we can all move forward towards achieving the added layer of protection against COVID-19 and its variants,” Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said then.
To date, 1.41 million coronavirus infections have been recorded in the Philippines, 48,469 of whom are still classified as active cases.
2,525,286 Filipinos are now fully vaccinated for COVID-19 around the country, while 7,538,128 have received their first shot as of June 27.
Per Our World in Data, the Philippines is second to the last in Southeast Asia in terms of the amount of the country's population who have already received at least one vaccine jab.
The Philippines remains among the worst countries in the world when it comes to vaccines per population.
— with a report from Xave Gregorio
- Latest
- Trending
