1st day of PH Covid-19 vax rollout ‘very successful’: Palace

MANILA – The first day of the government’s national Covid-19 vaccination program was very successful, Malacañang said on Tuesday.

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque, who was present during the ceremonial vaccination at the University of the Philippines-Philippine General Hospital (UP-PGH) on Monday, said he personally got to witness how some frontline healthcare workers were delighted over the country’s vaccination drive finally kicking off.

UP-PGH Director Dr. Gerardo “Gap” Legaspi was the first person to receive China’s Sinovac-made “CoronaVac” vaccine.

“Naging napakatagumpay po ng day one ng ating national Covid-19 vaccination program kung saan lahat po ay nagdiwang. May iba pa nga pong naiyak sa tuwa lalo na po sa PGH nung nakita nilang nagpapabakuna si Dr. Gap Legaspi (Day one of the national Covid-19 vaccination program was very successful. Everyone celebrated. Some got teary-eyed especially in PGH when they saw that Dr. Gap Legaspi got vaccinated),” he said in a Palace press briefing

Roque said frontline medical workers who received the vaccine now have “peace of mind” knowing that they have some sort of natural protection against the virus.

“Maligaya po ang ating medical front-liners kasi nga po nagkaroon sila ng peace of mind na bagamat sila po’y exposed dito sa coronavirus, ay meron na silang proteksyon ngayon (Our medical front-liners are happy because they can have peace of mind even if they are exposed to Covid-19, they have protection now),” he added.

He was particularly pleased by the turnout, especially since many front line healthcare workers initially opted out from the Sinovac-made vaccines.

“Despite yung mga hesitancy ng mga medical front-liners, marami and yung numero na nagpabakuna exceeded our expectations. Consistent po ito dun sa mga pag-aaral na sinabi na ang mga Pilipino talaga makita lang nilang mauna yung iba ay susunod (Despite the hesitancy of our medical front-liners, there were a lot and the number of individuals who got vaccinated exceeded our expectations. This is consistent with studies that show that Filipinos will follow right after they see others getting vaccinated first),” he said.

As of Monday (March 1), a total of 756 individuals, mostly frontline healthcare workers for six hospitals, have been administered with CoronaVac vaccine.

Of this number, 128 frontline medical workers and other employees were from UP-PGH.

Philippine Foundation for Vaccination executive director Dr. Lulu Bravo, for her part, allayed fears over the safety and effectiveness of the Sinovac-made CoronaVac vaccines.

“Science and public health should always prevail. Kasi ang nakikita ko sometimes parang (Because I can see sometimes it’s like) politics and prejudice…that should not be the case. We should all base our decision on science and definitely public health. And vaccination ever since is a public health issue. It is not just for us alone. This is really for the public,” she said.

Bravo, a member of the National Adverse Event Following Immunization Committee (NAEFIC) that monitors the possible side effects of vaccines, also assured that the committee is looking into possible side effects that occur after vaccination.

“All the vaccinees will be able to have a reporting of any adverse event,” he added.

Sinovac’s CoronaVac is the third Covid-19 vaccine brand after Pfizer-BioNTech and AstraZeneca, respectively, approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for emergency use.

On Monday, Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Martin Andanar expressed optimism that with the start of the arrival of Covid-19 vaccines, the country can gradually return to its progressive track.

“Sa pagdating ng mga bakuna, natatanaw na po natin ang katapusan ng pandemya at ng pagpapahirap po nito sa ating mga Pilipino (With the arrival of the vaccines, the end of the pandemic and its impacts to us Filipinos is now in sight),” he said.

Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) co-chair Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said the vaccination of government officials “aims to demonstrate that Covid-19 vaccines that have secured an EUA from the FDA are safe and proven means to prevent Covid-19”.

“We are here today to assure that we only mean the best for our kababayans as we roll out the government’s vaccination program,” he said.

Apart from medical and healthcare front-liners in various hospitals, vaccine czar Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr., Metropolitan Manila Development Authority Chair Benjamin Abalos Jr., and Bases Conversion and Development Authority President and CEO Vivencio Dizon were among those who received the first doses of the Sinovac’s CoronaVac.

The country’s first 600,000 doses of Sinovac vaccine donated by China arrived on board a Chinese military aircraft at the Villamor Air Base in Pasay City on Sunday.

President Rodrigo Roa Duterte attended the arrival ceremony of the vaccines and expressed intention to visit China before the end of the year to personally thank Chinese President Xi Jinping.