READY TO HANDLE. Vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. alongside testing czar Vince Dizon and Mayor Lino Cayetano check Taguig City's vaccine cold storage room for Russian-made Sputnik V jabs produced by Gamaleya Research Institute on Wednesday (May 5, 2021). Galvez says Taguig City is ready to handle highly-sensitive Covid-19 vaccines that require sub-zero temperatures such as Sputnik V, Pfizer, and Moderna. (PNA photo by Jess M. Escaros Jr.)
MANILA – The city government of Taguig targets to vaccinate at least 10,000 residents daily to complete its citywide vaccination drive by November 7 to help other cities in Metro Manila and nearby provinces, Mayor Lino Cayetano said on Wednesday.
"We are now committing to hitting 10,000 a day so we will be done by November 7," Cayetano said during a media briefing at the Lakeshore vaccination hub in Taguig City.
Once the city has done inoculating all its residents, Cayetano said all the city's mega vaccination centers will be open for the other residents in the areas of the National Capital Region (NCR) and its nearby provinces of Bulacan, Laguna, Cavite, and Rizal.
"Our commitment by November 7, we will open all the Taguig's mega vaccination hubs for the NCR Plus, because until everyone is safe, no one is safe," he said.
Taguig City has committed to increasing its vaccination capacity rate to 5,600 residents daily in June, from its current rate at 4,000 residents daily.
He said the city is targeting to expand its vaccination capacity rate up to 10,000 residents daily so it could finish by November 7.
Meanwhile, Cayetano said they have been preparing for the proper handling and management of highly sensitive vaccines that require subzero temperature for cold storage.
"Since January we've been preparing, hindi namin alam kung anong bakuna ang unang darating pero hinanda na po kami (We don't know what vaccine would be arriving, but we have been prepared)," Cayetano said.
Cayetano cites the city government has put up a "world-class storage facility" less than two kilometers from the Lakeshore vaccination hub.
"Whether that's Gamaleya, Pfizer or Moderna, masisiguro natin yung integredad nung bakuna, yung temperature ho niyan so mula sa pag-alis sa kanilang (you can be assured of the integrity of vaccine temperature from the deployment at the) cold-storage facility," he said.
He said over 90 personnel from the city health office (CHO) have gone through training on cold-storage handling.
"Hindi tayo limitado dun sa malapit sa cold-storage so lahat po ng access point sa (We are not limited to a nearby cold-storage facility so all access points in) Taguig and even in NCR they can commit to delivering 'yung Gamaleya kahit po maselan yung (the Gamaleya vaccine even if it has a sensitive) cold-storage handling niya and that is really practiced in circulation," he said.
The city government continues to vaccinate priority groups under categories A1 (healthcare workers), A2 (senior citizens), and A3 (persons with comorbidity), he added.
Cayetano said they have already vaccinated around 99 percent of the city's healthcare workers, as he urged more medical professionals to avail of the Covid-19 vaccine.
The city is targeting to inoculate about 70,000 to 80,000 senior citizens.
Cayetano added they are also open to vaccinate non-residents who are working in the city.
"If we want to protect Taguig, we will vaccinate its residents and those who work here," he said. (PNA)
