By Jun David
Hundreds of walk-in minors received Pfizer- BioNTech and Moderna jabs during the first day of the second national rollout of the Bayanihan Bakunahan at SM Malls in Marilao, San Jose Del Monte, and Baliwag in Bulacan.
With their guardians and minding the social distancing, youth aged 12 to 17 braved the long lines to get vaccinated.
During screening and registration, children with comorbidities are prioritized and referred to Bulacan Medical Center for their inoculation to ensure immediate medical attention is given in case of adverse effects following immunization.
Authorities in vaccination cluster share that the vaccinate number among the youth rose sharply after the new variant from South Africa was detected.
Ramping up the Local Government Unit’s Bayanihan Bakunahan, SM Malls in Bulacan also expanded its vaccination set up by turning its event centers, cinemas and other unleased areas to official vax sites to bolster inoculation drive for children and adolescents as well as the rest of adult population.
“We expand our vax site at the mall by using our event center and cinemas to accommodate more vaccinees and to encourage everyone to get vaccinated so we could enjoy safe Christmas” says SM City Marilao Mall Manager Engr. Emmanuel Gatmaitan.
For the three-day national vaccination drive, Local Government in SM City Marilao offers first and second dose vaccination of Pfizer- BioNTech and Sinovac brands.
Moderna booster shots will likewise be administered to those who have been fully vaccinated 6 months from the second dose and 3 months or at least 90 days from J&J Janssen brand 1st dose.
Vaccination drive in SM City Marilao is also open for walk-ins. The Local Government targeted 300 walk-ins each for pediatric, adult, and booster category on December 16 and 200 walk-ins each for the three categories on December 17 to 18.
The Municipality of Marilao is eyeing to reach herd immunity and vaccinate at least 127,560 which is 70% of its town population.
Meanwhile, the city government at SM City San Jose Del Monte targets to inoculate an estimate of 1,300 vaccinee per day. To cater the town’s population, walk-ins are accepted for pediatric, adult, and booster category. Sinovac, Astrazeneca, Pfizer, and Moderna are the available vaccines to be inoculated.
Baliwag local government, on the other hand, urge the adult population to get vaccinated in order to achieve the cocoon effect which protects the children at home.
More than 5,000 vaccines are allotted for walk-ins for Bayanihan Bakunahan. Vaccines available are Pfizer, Moderna, AztraZeneca, and Sinovac brands.
With its long-standing commitment to public health and safety, SM Malls in Marilao, San Jose Del Monte, and Baliwag hopes to accommodate more vaccinees, surpassing the total inoculated individuals during the first national rollout of the Bayanihan Bakunahan last November 29 to December 01.
“Aside from keeping our malls a safe place for shoppers, we at SM, will always give our utmost support by keeping our venues open for vaccination drives like this” shares SM City Baliwag Mall Manager Rodora Tolentino.