MEGA VAX SITE. National Task Force Against Covid-19 chief implementer Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. together with International Container Terminal Services, Inc. Executive Vice President Christian Gonzalez during a visit at the Solaire-ICTSI Mega Vaccination Center on Thursday (Aug. 12, 2021). The site, located along New Seaside Drive in Parañaque City, hosts eight ambulatory vaccination centers and 30 drive-thru booths that have the capacity to inoculate at least 15,000 persons a day. (PNA photo by Jesus Escaros)
MANILA – The mega vaccination site at the Nayong Pilipino was formally opened on Thursday to serve the public from Metro Manila and nearby provinces.
The site, located along New Seaside Drive in Parañaque City, hosts eight ambulatory vaccination centers and 30 drive-thru booths that have the capacity to inoculate at least 15,000 persons a day.
About 50,000 doses of government-provided Moderna vaccine will be used for the initial rollout, with health workers from both Parañaque City and the private sector manning the mega vaccination site.
International Container Terminal Services, Inc. Executive Vice President Christian Gonzalez said appointments would course through the Parañaque City local government.
"We as part of the private sector group are only participating in terms of funding and organization, but this sits on government land and it will remain a government land and it will be operated under the guidance of the national and city government," he told reporters during the launch.
The Nayong Pilipino Foundation previously figured in a controversy after its former chief opposed the project over environmental concerns.
Gonzalez then assured that no trees were cut during the construction of what now stands as the Solaire-ICTSI Mega Vaccination Center.
"No trees were cut, we have to respect... Kung may mga punong medyo natumba, we made sure na itinaas, iyon ang strict instruction (If there were trees that fell, we made sure that we bring it back, that's the strict instruction)," he said.
'Systematic' process
During the site inspection, National Task Force (NTF) Against Covid-19 chief implementer Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. hailed the hub's "systematic" vaccination, which took vaccinees less than 30 minutes to finish from registration, screening, down to the 15-minute observation.
The national government, he said, would also supply more doses once the site's initial allocation has been depleted.
"Madali nating (madadagdagan) dahil every month mayroon tayong Moderna, and ang most na binibigyan natin ng Moderna ay highly-urbanized cities and surge cities (We can easily do that since every month we have Moderna vaccines being delivered, and we're really allocating these to highly-urbanized cities and surge cities)," he said.
Galvez said the drive-thru site is another proof of the valuable support of the private sector.
"We really appreciate so much the help of the private sector, particularly in these trying times," Galvez said, adding that tricycle drivers will soon be scheduled for inoculation.
Parañaque Mayor Edwin Olivarez said the site will also cater to provincial residents arriving at the city’s airports.
"Lahat po covered. Wala pong pipiliin dito. Ito pong sa vaccination center dito ay para po sa bawat Pilipino (Everyone is covered here. This vaccination center is for every Filipino)," he said.
The opening of Nayong Pilipino Mega Vaccination Center brings to around 1,700 the total number of active vaccination sites in the country.
NTF deputy chief implementer Secretary Vince Dizon said this was a big boost to the government's vaccination efforts that have already hit a record-high 710,000 shots in a single day last week.
The construction of the facility was funded by the ICTSI Foundation and designed by a team of architects, headed by Jun Palafox. (With a report from Lade Jean Kabagani/PNA)
