The city government has tapped the Leyte Normal University (LNU) as vaccination hub to speed up the vaccination rollout.

Mayor Alfred Romualdez said on Tuesday the LNU HRDC gym has been opened for two days starting May 17 to serve as vaccination site for 800 residents identified to receive the first dose and 370 others to get the second dose.

“I don’t want to lose the focus. Vaccination is important. If you look at it, we survived one year without vaccination and we can survive another year, but the most effective way is to wear your mask and face shield,” Romualdez said in a statement.

Newly installed LNU president Evelyn Aguirre said the school facility is open to residents under the priority groups A2 (senior citizens) and A3 (persons with comorbidities).

“This partnership is part of the University’s active response and collaboration with the government to ensure a unified and coordinated vaccination campaign in the country,” Aguirre said in a social media post.

As of May 7, some 4,800 residents belonging to priority categories A1 (health workers) to A3 got the Sinovac and AstraZeneca vaccines.

LNU, one of the biggest campuses in the city, is a center of development for teacher education in Eastern Visayas. It was established as a normal school in 1921 and converted to a university in 1995. (PNA)