The National Task Force Against Covid-19 on Wednesday led the rollout of the pharmacy and drive-thru vaccination service of the city government here to make the jabs more accessible to the public.
In his message during the ceremonial administration of a booster dose at the Watsons branch inside SM City-Baguio, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said: “Ang laban sa Covid (coronavirus disease 2019) ay hindi ito kakayanin ng pamahalaan lang, ng pribadong sektor lamang (the government nor the private sector can’t fight Covid-19 on its own).”
“We are appreciative of the timely and complementary effort of the private sector that exemplifies a whole of government, the whole of the country, the whole of system approach in the fight against Covid,” he added, even as he noted that from the 34 percent vaccine hesitancy rate in 2021, the number dropped to only 8 percent to date.
This development can be attributed to the effort of the national and local government units (LGUs) to bring the vaccination closer to the people, Duque said.
He urged the public to avail of the services brought to be protected against severe Covid-19 infection under the “Resbakuna sa Botika” program, in partnership with the private sector.
Duque’s group also went for a walk-through of a drive-thru vaccination site at the Athletic Bowl in Burnham Park.
Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat, who joined the rollout activities, asked Mayor Benjamin Magalong to announce that the booster shot services at Watsons will not only cater to residents of Baguio but also from nearby areas as well as tourists and travelers.
She lauded the city for being a trailblazer, being the first to open its borders to tourists in 2020 through a calibrated approach, first LGU to establish an online tourist registration portal, among the first to reach 100 percent vaccination of its eligible residents, and now, the first LGU outside the National Capital Region to roll out the “Resbakuna sa Botika” program.
Meanwhile, Secretary Vivencio Dizon, National Task Force Against Covid-19 deputy chief implementer, said they will extend the same program of utilizing pharmacies for the vaccination rollout in other provinces. (PNA)
