(PNA file photo)
MANILA – A majority of Philippine National Police (PNP) personnel are willing to get inoculated against the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19), according to a survey.
PNP Chief, Gen. Guillermo Eleazar, said on Saturday survey results showed that 84 percent of the police force are willing to get vaccinated and it doesn't matter which brand of vaccine would be used.
“Alam namin (na) kung ano ang available, ‘yun po ang ibabakuna sa amin. Well, based sa ating latest survey, 84 percent ng aming kapulisan out of the 220,000 ay willing magpabakuna (We know that we will be vaccinated with whatever brand is available. Based on our latest survey, 84 percent of 220,000 police personnel are willing to be vaccinated),” Eleazar said during a Laging Handa briefing. “Merong iba may choice sila. Pero alam naman natin kung ano available, 'yun po ang i-a-avail natin (Others have preferred brands but we know we can only avail of what is there), just like anybody else.”
He said only 13,000 in the PNP have been vaccinated so far as part of the A1 (medical front-liners), A2 (senior citizens), and A3 (with comorbidities) categories.
The number includes non-uniformed personnel.
Eleazar also ordered the deployment of members of the Medical Reserve Force (MRF) to vaccination centers to enforce safety protocols and help administer the vaccines.
The MRF, formed at the height of the pandemic last year, consists of police officers who are graduates of medicine and health-related courses.
MRF members have served in police-operated quarantine facilities, such as Philsports Pasig and the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City.
Members of the MRF undergo refresher courses on the administration of vaccines.
He said he was thankful that it is almost the turn of the A4 group.
As chief of the PNP, he said he would be the first to get the jab and after him would be those deployed to the front lines, the supervisors, and those who do administrative work
Eleazar likewise directed regional and provincial directors to coordinate with the Department of Health in identifying police camps that could be used as vaccination sites.
Recoveries
Meanwhile, an additional 139 police officers have recovered from Covid-19.
Citing Friday night's data, Eleazar said this brought the police force's recovery count to 21,117.
The PNP also recorded 211 new cases that pushed the active cases tally to 1,460 out of a total of 22,640 cases since the pandemic started in March last year.
Another police officer succumbed to Covid-19, raising the death toll to 63.
The latest fatality was a 55-year-old assigned to the National Operations Support Unit. He died on Thursday. (PNA)
