Coordinate with LGUs in getting jabs at pharmacies: NTF exec

MANILA – An official of the National Task Force (NTF) Against Covid-19 on Friday urged persons who wished to receive booster shots against the coronavirus in pharmacies participating in the “Resbakuna sa Botika” program of the government to coordinate with their local government units (LGUs).

“They should coordinate with their LGUs so they can be provided with schedule. LGUs give the assignment and schedule,” Assistant Secretary Wilben Mayor said during the arrival of over 1.8 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1.

He said 422 booster shots were administered during the “Resbakuna sa Botika’s” initial rollout on Thursday.

Mayor described as “good” the initial rollout, as the private sector worked with the government to expand the vaccination coverage.

“What’s good about this (program) is that the vaccines are becoming more accessible to the public. They now have more options as to where they could get their jabs,” he said.

The Generics Pharmacy, Generika Drugstore, Healthway Clinic, Mercury Drugstore, Watsons, QualiMed, and Southstar Drug participated in the initial rollout in Metro Manila on January 20 and 21.

The official said other regions have expressed interest to apply the program in their area.

“We need to pilot test this first in Metro Manila, so we can see how the process goes and we could have it perfected,” he said. “Definitely, we will expand this program.”

The country has received about 215.5 million doses of vaccines against Covid-19 and almost 56 million of the country’s population are already fully inoculated, Mayor said.

Mayor appealed to the public to get the life-saving shot to protect themselves especially against the Omicron variant of the coronavirus.

Pfizer shots for kids age 5 to 11 years old might arrive late January, he said.