The Makati City government will be spending P1 billion to buy COVID-19 vaccines for its residents.
City officials led by Mayor Abigail Binay are coordinating with vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. and members of the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) to finalize details of the purchase and mass vaccination.
“This is our number one priority for 2021. I want each and every Makatizen to receive both doses of the coronavirus vaccine for free to protect them and their families against the virus,” said Binay.
“We’ve seen the damage it can do both to human lives and our economy. After everything we’ve lost this year, we will do whatever it takes to protect our residents, employees, and our business community,” she added.
Binay said she will ask the City Council to pass a supplemental budget as soon as the city gets the go ahead from the IATF.
“We will exhaust all means to get the much-needed vaccines early and have all Makatizens vaccinated. The city will also assist companies and businesses that would like to buy vaccines for their employees and workers. We are aiming for 100 percent vaccination in Makati,” she said.
The city chief executive said that preparations for online registration are underway to ensure safe and convenient access of residents to free vaccination against the deadly coronavirus disease.
Last month, the local government inoculated the last batch of residents to be vaccinated in its flu vaccination program aim to prevent hospitalizations and reduce complications of COVID-19.
The trivalent flu shots cover three influenza strains, namely, influenza A or H1N1, influenza A or H3N2, and influenza B.
Aside from flu shots, residents and City Hall employees have also received free vaccination shots against pneumonia.
The local government also conducts house-to-house distribution of free vitamins to senior citizens, and also provides the said benefit to personnel who have been reporting for duty since the enhanced community quarantine.
Mayor Binay reiterated her reminders to her constituents to wash their hands regularly with clean soap and water, wear face masks and face shields, avoid crowded places, observe coughing and sneezing etiquette, maintain a distance of at least one meter from other people, and avoid touching surfaces during the holiday season to curb the spread of COVID-19.