Mobile vaccination drive for transport workers starts today

CEBU, Philippines — The mobile vaccination drive for transport groups and commuters kicks off today at the Malasakit Lounge of Land Transportation Office-7 on N. Bacalso, Cebu City while the pilot implementation of the 5-11-year-old vaccination also unfolds in some areas of Luzon today.

Dubbed “Arangkada Para sa Bakuna,” the mobile vaccination drive will run for five days beginning today until February 11, 2022.

The first two days will be prioritizing those under the transport group itself while the remaining days will be open to the general public.

In this way, the personal health of the drivers, conductors, etc., as well as for the safety of their loved ones, will be ensured.

The Cebu City Health Department has assured to accommodate 1,000 vaccinees daily in the said site.

The site will be open for those still going to get their first dose, second or even booster shot.

For those who would like to be scheduled for vaccination, they may fill up the form provided in this link:  https://docs.google.com/.../1FAIpQLSchV4x.../viewform, and a staff will be reaching out to them for their schedule.

This vaccination drive is  initiated by the Department of Transportation throgh the Land Transportation and Franchising Regulatory Board-7 and LTO-7 in partnership with the Visayas Vaccination Operations Center (VVOC), Department of Health-7, Cebu City Health Department, Department of Information and Communications Technology-7, and the Office of the Presidential Assistant for the Visayas (OPAV) in support of the Duterte Government’s thrust towards ending the COVID-19 pandemic through the nationwide COVID-19 vaccination campaign.

Meanwhile, the pilot implementation of the vaccination for 5-11-year-olds also kicks off today in six areas in Metro Manila and two LGUs in Region 4A.

Vaccination of children aged 5 to 11 years old would bring a greater sense of normalcy to their lives and enable the government to achieve its goal of providing an increased level of protection to all Filipino families, National Task Force Chief Implementer and vaccine czar Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. said ahead of the pilot implementation of the vaccination of this pediatric group today, Friday.

The nationwide rollout is expected to kick off on February 14 despite the petition filed by two parents in Quezon City last week asking the court to issue a temporary restraining order halting the vaccination of children 5 to 11 years olds.

“May kumpiyansa kami na makikita ng ating mga judges yung magiging merit ng TRO at we are very confident that many people, many parents, and also overwhelmingly ang ating mga mamamayan, susuportahan po tayo dahil nakikita po natin na malaki ang pakinabang ng bakuna dito sa pandemya,” said Galvez.

“We cannot go out to the new normal without the vaccine so nakikita namin na it (vaccine rollout) will proceed,” he added.

Galvez also banks on the support of different associations in the vaccination of the pediatric group including the 5-11 age group.

“Though alam naming may proseso tayo, we have a very strong support from different medical associations like the Philippine Medical Association. In fact, ‘yung UNICEF, WHO, US Embassy Officials, Cabinet Secretaries at ang Philippine Pediatric Society will be joining us during the inoculation,” added Galvez.

Galvez stressed that vaccinating the said age group is necessary to ensure their protection against COVID-19 and enable the nation’s full recovery from the health crisis.

“Ang panawagan po natin sa ating mga magulang, kailangang mabuo ang ating programa na buong pamilya ang ating mabakunahan. Kasi kung buong pamilya ang mababakunahan, we will keep the family safe at ‘yung mga bata ay makakawala na sa restrictions, at magkakaroon na tayo ng face-to-face classes,” Galvez said.

The Philippines kicked off its pediatric vaccination program for minors aged 12 to 17 in October last year. As of February 3, over 9.1 million individuals from the said age group have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 jab, according to NTF.

In Cebu City, registration for the youngest eligible group is also ongoing via https://vims.cebucity.gov.ph/page/portal. This registration portal can also be used by the other groups either for first, second or booster shots.

So far, there are now close to 5,000 under the 5-11 group who have registered for vaccination in Cebu City.

The Cebu City government is also gearing up for the third edition of the National Vaccination Days where it hopes to inoculate around 58,000 individuals. — JMD (FREEMAN)