MANILA, Philippines – The National government will roll out its “Resbakuna sa Botika” program for pilot testing this January 20 and 21 in 7 selected pharmacies and clinics in Metro Manila to administer free booster shots.
Registration and documentation will be handled by the LGUs, so those who would like to avail of the booster shots need to pre-register through the designated LGUs of the participating pharmacies and clinics.
The select pharmacies and clinics will be responsible for the administration of the Covid vaccine boosters to fully vaccinated patients, with pharmacists of the select drugstores giving the booster jabs.
To reassure the public, Dr. Beaver Tamesis, president of the Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Association of the Philippines, said pharmacists were well-trained in administering vaccines.
“They are prepared and they’ve been waiting for this opportunity to help the national effort in curbing the spread of COVID-19,” Tamesis said.
For the week-long pilot run, the participating venues are the ff:
- Healthway Manila Clinic
- Mercury Drug Malate, Pres. Quirino Ave.
- South Star Drug Marikina
- Watsons, SM Supercenter Pasig
- Generika Drugstore Signal 1 in Taguig
- The Generics Pharmacy, Parañqaque
- Qualimed Clinic, McKinley Road in Makati
During the Palace press briefing, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said that each of the seven participating venues will receive 500 doses per week.
Testing Czar Vince Dizon said, the program aims to resolve the limited number of vaccinators, some of whom have contracted the COVID-19 virus during the current surge of cases seen in the country. This will also help in easing the congestion within major vaccination venues, providing a wider reach within communities through smaller and dispersed sites.
“Mabilis po ito. Pagka-launch natin at magpa-pilot sila ng mga isang linggo, mag-e-expand na po tayo nang mabilis sa iba’t iba pang mga cities all over the country — Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao — at sa iba’t ibang mga botika,” added Dizon
Below is the Philippine’s vaccination statistics based on the January 18 data of the National Covid-19 Vaccination Dashboard:
- Total Doses Administered: 120,645,514
- First Dose: 59,255,237
- Complete Dose: 56,027,759
- Booster Dose: 5,362,518
Regarding the government’s program, Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. of the National Task Force (NTF) Against COVID-19 said, “This is our way forward, to hand over the responsibility of the vaccination from the national government … to its complete devolution to the LGUs (local government units) and the private sector in preparation for the future commercialization of the vaccine.”
Galvez added that an average of 260,000 booster doses was being administered daily, which should be raised to 500,000.
Sources: Inquirer.net and ptvnews.ph