Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles (File photo)
MANILA – Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles on Monday joined members of the President’s official family in vaccination activities to increase public confidence in Covid-19 vaccines, which was rolled out initially to the country’s health care workers, frontline essential workers, and uniformed personnel.
Nograles, co-chair of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID), joined Department of Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana and Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center (VMMC) in Quezon City.
Later on, the same group converged with Department of Health Secretary Francisco Duque III and Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief-of-Staff, Lt. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana at the Victoriano Luna Medical Center, also known as V. Luna, also in Quezon City.
The VMMC and V. Luna were among the six government hospitals where the first doses of China-donated Sinovac Covid-19 vaccines were administered.
The other four were the Philippine General Hospital, the Lung Center of the Philippines, the Dr. Jose N. Rodriguez Memorial Medical Center and Sanitarium, and the Philippine National Police General Hospital.
Nograles said the vaccination of government officials “aims to demonstrate that Covid-19 vaccines that have secured an EUA (Emergency Use Authorization) from the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) are safe and proven means to prevent COVID-19”.
“We are here today to assure that we only mean the best for our kababayans as we roll out the government’s vaccination program,” he said.
Apart from medical and healthcare front-liners in various hospitals, Vaccine Czar Secretary Carlito Galvez, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority Chair Benjamin Abalos Jr., and Bases Conversion and Development Authority President and CEO Vivencio Dizon were among those who received the first doses of the Sinovac’s CoronaVac, which was granted an EUA by the FDA on Feb. 22.
Nograles reiterated his assurances “that all vaccines to be acquired by the government will undergo the stringent evaluation and selection process of the FDA to ensure their safety and efficacy”.
“Only FDA-approved vaccines, whether for an EUA or for clinical trials, will be used in inoculating the Filipino people. Regardless of brands or country of origin, all vaccine candidates will undergo the same rigorous regulatory review procedures,” he said.
Nograles also took the opportunity to acknowledge the contributions of health workers.
“The President would like to thank, and hindi po mauubos ang aming pagpapasalamat sa sakripisyo at serbisyo ng ating mga health care workers sa pandemya na halos isang taong na natin ni nirerespondehan (We will not stop expressing our appreciation for the sacrifices and services of our health care workers during pandemic which has yet to be resolved for nearly a year now),” he said. (PR)
