Palace vows improved access, faster vax rollout

MANILA – Malacañang on Wednesday promised to ramp up the government’s vaccination drive in an effort to achieve population protection amid the prevailing coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic. 

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque made the vow, as he welcomed the results of the Social Weather Stations’ (SWS) June 23 to 26 poll which showed that 68 percent of 1,200 adult Filipinos have easy access to Covid-19 vaccination sites in their area.

In a press statement, Roque attributed the improved access to vaccination sites to the “combined hard work” of the executive branch, the local government units (LGUs), and major stakeholders such as private sector leaders who contributed to the national vaccination program.

Roque, however, acknowledged that the government needs to exert more effort to ensure a smooth vaccination drive.

“While much has been achieved since we began, we recognize that much more needs to be done. The same SWS survey reveals that there are areas that still have no access to a vaccination site and/or have a slow pace of vaccination,” he said.

Roque was referring to the SWS survey which also revealed that 50 percent of Filipinos believe that the vaccination rollout in the country is slow.

Roque said the government would boost the supply of Covid-19 jabs to improve access to and pace of vaccination.

He added that the government would procure more Covid-19 vaccines, tap pharmacists and medical interns to increase personnel or vaccinators, and use village health centers as vaccination sites.

“We are likewise undertaking initiatives, together with our partnership with the LGUs and the private sector, such as having malls as vaccination sites, drive-thru vaccination, bakuna all day/night, house-to-house vaccination to inoculate the elderlies and vulnerable, to reach more people,” Roque said.

Roque assured the public that the government’s resolve is to keep Filipino safe from Covid-19.

“Rest assured that we will not rest until we achieve population protection, for no one is safe, as the President underscored until all of us are safe,” he said.

As of Aug. 18, a total of 28,308,493 Covid-19 vaccine doses have already been administered nationwide.

Around 15,565,411individuals are now fully vaccinated while 12,743,082 have received the first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine.