PASIG CITY, March 1 (PIA) -- Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairperson Benhur Abalos today assured the public that both national and local government agencies are ready for the Philippines’ long-awaited vaccination rollout.
Abalos, who joined President Rodrigo Roa Duterte and other Cabinet officials in welcoming the arrival of the very first 600,000 doses of Sinovac-made CoronaVac vaccine donated by China on Sunday at the Villamor Airbase in Pasay City, said the MMDA has already checked the readiness of Metro Manila cities, and its lone municipality, to participate in the COVID-19 immunization program.
He said the Metro Manila Council (MMC), comprising the mayors of the 17 local government units (LGUs) in the National Capital Region (NCR), met with national government officials and have earlier discussed plans for the vaccination program, especially since vaccine vials will require delicate handling and proper storage to ensure high efficacy.
On the part of the national government, the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF), and the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) have also checked the cold storage facilities to be used by the metro LGUs in storing the vaccines.
Such cold storage facilities are equipped with state-of-the-art technology that can consistently maintain the right temperature of sensitive products, such as vaccines, at all times, even in the event of a power outage.
Metro Manila and other major areas and cities in the country are expected to receive the first batch of vaccines starting today, especially since NCR remains to be the coronavirus epicenter in the country.
As of today, data from the DOH COVID-19 tracker website showed that almost half of the total confirmed cases in the Philippines, or about 233,000 of the 574,000 cases, are in Metro Manila. (PIA NCR)
Source: Philippines Information Agency (pia.gov.ph)
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