MANILA, Philippines — Metro Manila's biggest cities are gearing up for the three-day national vaccination program run from November 29 to December 1.
In Quezon City, the capital region's biggest city, around 150,000 individuals are targeted for vaccination in special sites including SM North Edsa Skydome, Eastwood City, Robinsons Magnolia, Waltermart North Edsa, SM Fairview, SM Novaliches, Fairview Terraces, Fisher Mall, Crossroad Parkway Mall, and Araneta Coliseum.
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The city government in a statement said it will prioritize all unvaccinated minors aged 12-17 years old and adults, as well as administer booster doses to members of the A1 (healthcare workers), A2 (senior citizens), and A3 (immunocompromised individuals).
"We have tapped groups for additional medical workers and partnered with malls and establishments to have more sites. We want to maximize the three days allocated for this vaccination drive,” Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte said.
"While we wait for the supply provided for by the national government, we can use our own vaccines as booster shots."
Apart from administering first doses and booster shots, second doses of pediatric and adult populations shall proceed as scheduled in other vaccination sites.
In the city of Manila, the vaccination of first, second, and booster shots for all priority groups, including the general population of minors.
The capital city said in an advisory that it would be opening about 75 vaccination sites for National Vaccination Day.
Earlier, the national government adjusted the target for next week’s three-day vaccination drive to just nine million doses from the initial 15 million due to a shortage in syringes and other logistical problems.
As of November 4, some 28.7 million Filipinos have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, while another 33.7 million are partially inoculated.
To date, 17,853 active cases of the pathogen remain in the Philippines, where health authorities have recorded 2.83 million coronavirus infections since the beginning of the pandemic.