Department of Health (DOH) Secretary Francisco Duque III on Monday administered the CoronaVac vaccine to a physician of the Lung Center of the Philippines (LCP) in Quezon City.

Pulmonologist Dr. Eileen Aniceto, head of the hospital’s emergency room, was among the 20 medical workers that received the vaccination during the first day of the rollout.

In an interview with reporters while waiting for the inoculation procedure, Aniceto urged the public to get vaccinated and “be part of the solution”.

“Get whatever is available… If you wanna be part of the solution, magpa-bakuna ka, kahit ano ang unang dumating (get vaccinated, whichever vaccine comes first). Have faith in the process,” Aniceto said.

Duque also made the call, as he assured that the CoronaVac, the first Covid-19 vaccine to arrive in the country, has been tested and proven safe.

“All the vaccines will undergo the Vaccine Expert Panel and the Food and Drugs Administration who will issue the Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) that will certify that these vaccines are safe, good quality, effective and of course free,” he said in a press briefing.

“We should not have doubts since these have been measured, studied, and all data from the different clinical trials were observed,” Duque added.

Aside from the LCP, the immunization program was also held in priority hospitals such as the Philippine General Hospital; Veterans Memorial Medical Center; Dr. Jose N. Rodriguez Memorial Hospital and Sanitarium (Tala Hospital); PNP General Hospital; and the V. Luna Medical Center.

The vaccination activities were held a day after the 600,000 doses of China-donated vaccines, manufactured by Beijing-based biopharmaceutical firm Sinovac Biotech, arrived in the country. (PNA)