The city government here launched on Monday its first mall-based coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) vaccination site in partnership with the City Mall.

In an interview, Mayor Julier Resuello said the mall is the 11th vaccination site in the city.

“We have started coordinating with other malls in the city so that when more vaccines become available, we are more than ready,” he said.

Resuello said other vaccination sites are in the city’s rural health units, city health offices, and private hospitals.

Residents of San Carlos City may now register for the vaccination program at the mall and they will be contacted when their immunization schedule is set, he said.

“We appeal to the national government for more doses of vaccine as we are one of the cities in Pangasinan that has a big population. Since April, we have only been able to vaccinate almost 6,000 residents or just five percent of our population,” he added.

Resuello said the city is willing to spend for the purchase of vaccines as it has allotted an initial PHP50 million for the procurement.

“If they will only allow us to purchase, then we are willing. We wanted to be of help to the national government and to our constituents,” he said.

Meanwhile, City Mall supervisor Lucy Ferrer said they have partnered with the local government unit as part of their corporate social responsibility.

“We are glad to serve the residents through this partnership. The use of the mall’s facility for the vaccination program is for free until the end of the program,” she said in a separate interview.

Armand Soriano, a resident of San Carlos City, commended the mall-based vaccination site.

“This is very convenient even during the rainy season. Residents could just go to the mall to register or later on be inoculated,” he said. (PNA)