MAYOR ABBY TALKS ABOUT THE MAKATI CITY VACCINATION PROGRAM
On March 24 and June 23, 2021, a meeting with Mayor Abby Binay was held for the purpose of enumerating the news and updates about the vaccination program in Makati City.
It was reported that all the 300 doses of Sinovac vaccines allotted by the national government for the city was used up on Day 1 of COVID-19 vaccination roll out. The mayor also emphasized that the city’s P1-billion budget for the purchase of the vaccines, including the already purchased one million doses of AstraZeneca vaccines, together with those vaccines procured by the national government is enough to cover all the people in Makati.
The official announcement that the vaccines will include employees of all registered businesses in the city, regardless of their residency was also discussed along with the qualifications for the free vaccine.
Another agenda dealt with in the meeting was the handling of the medical expenses and hospital bills of the residents and non-residents in case of adverse events, linked to the vaccine. The Yellow Card Program and Philhealth, together with the Malasakit Financial Assistance from DOH will be the ones to cover the expenses of the affected individual, resident or non-resident, respectively.
The discussion of the City Ordinance No. 2021-094 or the COVID-19 Vaccination Site Standardization Protocol and Registration Process was also done, stating the requirement for private firms to submit their registration of vaccination sites to the Office of the City Administrator in order to ensure that the standards set by DOH are strictly followed. The requirements which are reviewed by the Makati COVID-19 Vaccination Site Quality Assurance Team was also brought up during the meeting.
In connection with this, the administration of more than 50,000 doses of vaccines provided by the national government to Makatizens under the A1 to A3 priority groups identified by the DOH, was disclosed. One of the key topics of the meeting that was raised was the recent establishment of the Vaccine On-The-Go (Vax OTG), the first drive-thru vaccination site in the country, in partnership with Ayala Corporation and AC Health.
In conclusion, the meetings highlighted the proper and safe storage of the vaccines in the biomedical refrigerators and laboratory freezers, housed in a vaccine depot at the City Hall quadrangle. As for the queries of the people, the city mayor, together with the medical experts on infectious diseases and vaccination, has launched an information campaign, stressing the necessity of getting vaccinated. An online registration portal has also been put up to accommodate the people who will receive a vaccine shot.
