ZAMBOANGA CITY — The National Task Force Against COVID-19 assured local government officials here that the city will be receiving more vaccine supplies as it began to roll out its vaccination program for children aged five to 11.
During his visit to vaccination centers for children on Tuesday, February 15, NTF chief implementer and vaccine czar Secretary Carlito G. Galvez, Jr. lauded the efforts of the city government for its speedy vaccination rollout.
Galvez inspected the vaccination sites located at the SM Mindpro and Zamboanga City Central School.
“Nakita nating mabilis ‘yung turnaround ng vaccination dito sa Zamboanga, and they are requesting for more volumes dahil by Thursday mauubos na ang kanilang vaccine,” Galvez said.
“We will commit na once na dumating ang replenishment natin na 780,000 [doses], priority natin ang Zamboanga,” he added.
The vaccine czar also emphasized that the ramped up vaccination for children will be crucial in the safe reopening of schools nationwide, and as the country starts to exit from the pandemic.
During President Rodrigo Duterte’s Talk to the People public address on Monday, Galvez emphasized that the continued expansion of the vaccination program will be the key in the successful implementation of the national government’s ‘new normal roadmap.’
This is the reason, he explained, why the government had aggressively pushed for the vaccination of children aged five to 11, as well as the ramped up administration of booster shots.
Galvez said the NTF is closely working with the Department of Education and the Commission on Higher Education to achieve a 100% vaccination coverage among teachers, students and school personnel.
“Napaka-successful ng mga pilot projects sa face-to-face classes. Based sa report ni Sec. Liling [Briones], walang infections o surge, meaning maganda ‘yung protocols at nasunod ang distancing at ventilation sa mga classroom,” Galvez said.
“Kaya kami nagpunta dito at pinili ang eskwelahan, para ipakita na sama-sama kami ng DepEd at CHED para matuloy na ang face-to-face classes,” he added.
The Zamboanga Peninsula is among the 10 regions in the country with the highest vaccination rates. As of February 14, the region has fully vaccinated over 71% of its target population.
A total of 132,013,140 vaccine doses have been administered nationwide. Of this number, 61,626,201 are now fully vaccinated while 149,612 children aged five to 11 have received their first dose. ###
