70 percent of Baguio cops willing to take vaccine

BAGUIO CITY (4 February 2021) – The Baguio City Police Office (BCPO) disclosed that at least 70 percent of its uniformed and non-uniformed personnel are willing to take the vaccine against Coronavirus disease (COVID) 2019.

BCPO Deputy City Director for Administration Lt. Col. Edward Aquintey said that the figure was derived from a recent survey conducted among the uniformed and non-uniformed personnel as part of the efforts to ascertain the acceptability of the vaccines among the frontliners.

However, he did disclose what brand of vaccine will be acceptable to the police personnel who expressed their willingness to take the vaccine.

The police official claimed the result of this survey indicates the high acceptance of law enforcers on the vaccine despite 30 percent of the members of the city police force still hesitant to take the vaccine following varying reports on the side effects of the vaccines.

Earlier, the city government reported it will procure some 380,000 doses of vaccine from AstraZenica in addition to its allocation from the National Vaccine Committee following the city’s identification as one of the priority areas for vaccination and possible donations from the private sector.

Under the national and local guidelines for the priority sectors that will be vaccinated, health workers and frontliners, including the police and military, will be the priority recipients of vaccines arriving in the city.

On the other hand, Aquintey disclosed the local police force will be preparing a security plan for the expected arrival of the vaccines purchased by the city government and the city’s allocation from the National Vaccine Committee to ensure the storage area will be appropriately secured.

The BCPO deputy chief appealed to residents to continue adhering to the prescribed basic health and safety protocols to prevent them from being given warnings or being apprehended by law enforcers and subsequently being imposed the penalties for violation.

He pointed out that the fight is against the unseen enemy and law enforcers are the simply enforcing the regulations crafted for the safety of the public. –  Dexter  A. See