GET THAT VAX. Randy Roncillo receives his first dose of the Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine at the opening of Taguig City's ninth vaccination hub at the Cinema 1 of the Venice Grand Canal Mall on Wednesday (May 19, 2021). Mayor Lino Cayetano said the city will open its mega vaccination hubs to residents of other cities in the National Capital Region and other parts of the country after completing the vaccination of its eligible population by November. (PNA photo by Lloyd Caliwan)
MANILA – Taguig City will open all its mega vaccination hubs to residents of other cities in the National Capital Region (NCR) and other parts of the country once it has completed vaccinating all of its eligible population against the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) by November.
"The City of Taguig vows to continue at a rate of 5,000 a day, in September we will try to increase by 6,000, 7,000, 8,000 so we can finish by November the entire (eligible) population of the City of Taguig. Kapag natapos po tayo ng November, bubuksan natin lahat ng mega hubs natin sa buong NCR at Pilipinas para makatulong tayo sa buong bayan (Once we finish by November, we will open all our mega (vaccination) hubs to the entire NCR and the Philippines so we can help the country)," Taguig Mayor Lino Cayetano said in an interview on the sidelines of the opening of the city's ninth mega vaccination site at the Cinemas 1 and 5 of the Venice Grand Canal Mall.
The city has a total of 650,000 eligible individuals for vaccination and these persons need to be vaccinated twice to be fully protected against Covid-19.
With its current daily vaccination rate, Cayetano said the city is expected to reach 65,000, or 10 percent of the eligible population this week.
As of May 18, the city has vaccinated a total of 54,287 individuals belonging to the A1 (medical front-liners), A2 (senior citizens), and A3 (persons with comorbidities) categories.
Cayetano said the city's latest vaccination hub will further expedite the city's ongoing vaccination rollout with two vaccination teams per cinema who can inoculate up to 400 persons daily.
“We have a good number of vaccine supplies as of now. We were told by the national government that there will be more in June. With that, the job of the LGUs (local government unit) is to make sure that vaccination is safe, fast, and accessible. The City of Taguig wants to focus on those three things. So, we will continue to aggressively plan our vaccination rollout," Cayetano said.
Get that jab
Meanwhile, Taguig residents who were inoculated at the site with Sinovac vaccines lauded the efforts of the local government to bring the vaccines closer to the public.
Edilyn Tala, said she felt no pain after her inoculation and advised all other residents to avail of the vaccines.
"Huwag na po kayong mag-atubili po, mas ok po ito mas ligtas po tayo rito, so kailangan po, magpabakuna na po tayo (Don't hesitate, it is safer to have vaccines here, we all need to be vaccinated)," she said in an interview.
Meanwhile, Randy Roncillo said he had a wonderful vaccination experience at the site which has good ventilation.
"Good job (to Mayor Cayetano) at sakto po dito, medyo malamig po para kapag sa labas po kasi sobrang mainit (it is nice here and it is quite cool as it is very hot outside)," he said.
Meanwhile, Margarita Paguiligan said she is not afraid to have herself vaccinated as this means protecting herself and her loved ones from Covid-19.
"Ako nga natatakot ako sa Covid-19 kaya nagpa-vaccine na ako (I am scared of Covid-19 that's why I decided to have myself inoculated)," she added.
Meanwhile, Megaworld Corporation vice president for marketing and business development Tefel Valentino thanked the city government for partnering with them and transforming their cinema into a flagship vaccination center.
Taguig City had earlier established mega vaccination hubs in Vista Mall, SM Aura and at the Bonifacio Global City High Street to ensure that all vaccinees will be comfortable and safe during vaccination.
Cayetano said the city is looking to partner with more malls and other spacious establishments to provide safe and spacious places where citizens may get vaccinated swiftly. (PNA)
